Michael Zeno Diemer (1867 - 1939) was a German painter. Now known primarily for his

marine painting Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre parti ...

s and postcard designs, he was initially famous for his

panoramic painting Panoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, Panorama, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th century in Europe and the Un ...

s of battles.

Life and work

Diemer was born on 8 February 1867 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 ...

which was then part of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

. In 1884, he enrolled at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

,Matrikelbuch 1884–1920
retrieved 21 December 2011. where he studied with Gabriel Hackl and

Alexander von Liezen-Mayer Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

. His fame initially derived from his impressive battle paintings. In 1894, over the course of six months, he worked in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, where he created a 1000 square meter (10,800 square feet) panoramic painting depicting the

Battles of Bergisel The Battles of Bergisel were four battles fought between Tyrolese civilian militiamen and a contingent of Austrian government troops and the military forces of Emperor Napoleon I of France and the Kingdom of Bavaria at the Bergisel hill near ...

(1809), in which forces led by

Andreas Hofer Andreas Hofer (22 November 1767 – 20 February 1810) was a County of Tyrol, Tyrolean innkeeper and Droving, drover who became the leader of the 1809 Tyrolean Rebellion during the War of the Fifth Coalition. He was subsequently captured and exe ...

defeated the armies of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and the

. It is currently on display at the ; one of only thirty surviving panoramas from that period. Another panorama from 1896 depicted the

Battle of Bazeilles The Battle of Bazeilles was fought on 1 September 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War as a portion of the larger Battle of Sedan and was one of the first battles to feature modern urban warfare tactics. It took place in Bazeilles, France, a ...

from the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. It was displayed at a specially constructed building in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

and is now lost. He created several works for the

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...

in Munich; including a

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...

for the

hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the move ...

display, a Medieval

herb garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

and the flight of a

zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

(1909). In

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, for the "Ketterer", a restaurant at a brewery, he produced a series of fourteen large paintings on the history of Swabian emigration. As a

watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

, he produced numerous landscape paintings and maritime scenes, poster designs, and postcard motifs. He also worked as a musician and a composer. His wife, Hermine, was the eldest daughter of the actress and writer,

Wilhelmine von Hillern Wilhelmine von Hillern (11 March 1836 Munich – 15 December 1916 Hohenaschau) was a German actress and novelist. Biography She was the daughter of the novelist Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer. She was brought up in Berlin, became an actress at Gotha ...

. Their son,

Franz-Zeno Diemer Franz Zeno Diemer (3 July 1889, in Oberammergau – 17 April 1954, in Friedrichshafen) was a flight pioneer in Bavaria, setting a number of world records, and Flight Officer for Bavarian Lifeguard Regiment. Early life He was born in Oberammerga ...

, was a pioneering test pilot and

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is a member of an aircraft's flight crew who is responsible for monitoring and operating its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referr ...

. He died on 28 February 1939 in

Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...

References

External links

More works by Diemer
@ ArtNet
The ''Battles of Bergisel''
at the Riesenrundgemälde *
Listing
@ the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diemer, Michael Zeno 1867 births 1939 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists Military art Panoramas German marine artists Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links