Maximilian Joseph Wagenbauer (1775 in

Grafing Grafing bei München (officially: Grafing b.München) is a town in the district of Ebersberg, Upper Bavaria, Germany. Geography Grafing is in the Munich Region, about southeast of the state capital, where the Urtelbach and Wieshamer Bach both e ...

– 1829 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

), was a Bavarian artist. After finishing school, Wagenbauer attended drawing classes in Munich, under

Johann Jakob Dorner the Elder Johann Jakob Dorner the Elder (1741–1813), who was born at Ehrenkirchen, Ehrenstetten, near Freiburg in Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Breisgau, was a painter of historical and Genre art, genre subjects. He was at first a pupil of Franz Joseph Rös ...

(1741-1813). At the turn of the 19th century he was producing mostly Neo-Classical watercolour landscapes. He served in the military from 1797 to 1801, receiving a royal artist's annuity after his service through the influence of Johann Christian von Mannlich (1741-1822), architect and general building director of the dukes of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

. A condition of the royal stipend was that he produce paintings. He was appointed artist to the court and cabinet in 1802 and Inspector of the Royal Paintings Gallery in 1815. Wagenbauer focused increasingly on oil painting after 1810 and enjoyed the patronage of

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) from 1806 to 1825. He was ...

, who in 1811 commissioned him, Cantius Dillis (1779-1856) and

Johann Jakob Dorner the Younger Johann Jakob Dorner the Younger (1775–1852) was a Bavarian landscape painter. The son of Johann Jakob Dorner the Elder, he was born in Munich and was instructed in art by his father and by Mannlich. Afterwards he studied the works of Claude ...

(1775-1852) to decorate the banquet hall at

Schloss Nymphenburg The Nymphenburg Palace (, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Nymphenburg served as the main summer residence for the former rulers of Bavaria ...

with large paintings of Bavarian lakes. In 1814 Wagenbauer toured

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (, ; ) is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat of the district gove ...

. At that time he was a member of the art academies of

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

. Max Wagenbauer discovered numerous areas in Bavaria. Wagenbauer's works departed from the classic tradition. He developed his own methodology where he combined careful observation with detailed study of nature, which became the cornerstones of his depictions of landscape. His paintings extolled the beauty of the Bavarian landscape, and inspired by

Adriaen van de Velde Adriaen van de Velde (bapt. 30 November 1636, in Amsterdam – bur. 21 January 1672, in Amsterdam), was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and print artist. His favorite subjects were landscapes with animals and genre scenes.Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid sur ...

, he produced a large number of animal studies. Wagenbauer also focused significantly on painting animals, a genre in which the influences of such artists as Adriaen van de Velde and Paulus Potter were evident. The genius of Wagenbauer was in the fact that even when inspired by other artists his own style was never overshadowed by theirs, thus resulting in a unique work. Maximilian Joseph Wagenbauer03

References

1775 births 1829 deaths 18th-century German painters 18th-century German male artists German male painters 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists People from Ebersberg (district) {{Germany-artist-stub