Rudolf Höckner (28 July 1864,

Wolkenstein Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of the Zschopau ...

- 22 April 1942,

Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim (; Mergentheim until 1926; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Märchedol'') is a town in the Main-Tauber-Kreis district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of around 23,000. An officially recogniz ...

) was a German

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

landscape and cityscape painter.

Biography

His parents were landowners and he was born on their estate near Wolkenstein. After the early death of his father in 1872, his family moved to

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

then, five years later, to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. There, he attended St. Thomas School, a liberal arts boarding school founded in the 13th century. He graduated in 1885.Sachs, Ramshorn; Die Lehrer der Thomasschule zu Leipzig 1832–1912, Die Abiturienten der Thomasschule zu Leipzig 1845–1912; Teubner, Leipzig 1912; S. 73 Following that, he initially studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, then was briefly enrolled at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. After deciding on a career in art, he attended the

Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar The Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar (German:Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar) was founded on 1 October 1860, in Weimar, Germany, by a decree of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It existed until 1910, when ...

, where his primary instructor was Theodor Hagen. He graduated in 1890, with a scholarship that enabled him to take study trips to Southern Germany and Italy. In 1891, he returned to Weimar, married Brigitte Ebsen, and became a free-lance artist. In 1895, financial difficulties forced him to move to

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

where he supplemented his artistic income by working as a sailing correspondent for the ''Nord-Ostsee-Zeitung''. In 1905, he moved his family again; this time to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

to work as a local affairs editor for the '. Two years later, he gave that up to make another attempt at being a free-lance artist; holding exhibits in Hamburg and Altona. In 1915, he and Brigitte finally settled in

Wedel Wedel () is a town in the Pinneberg (district), district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, approximately south of Elmshorn, and west of Hamburg. History Foundation and Mi ...

, on the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

, and remained there until her death in 1941. On the occasion of his 65th birthday, he was named an honorary member of the and, at the age of 75, became an honorary citizen of Wedel. After his wife's death, he moved to Southern Germany and died in the

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

of Bad Mergentheim. More than 250 of his paintings are owned by the city of Wedel. Others may be seen at the

Hamburger Kunsthalle The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the art museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the largest art museums in the country. It consists of three connected buildings, dating from 1869 (main building), 1921 (Kuppelsaal) and ...

and the

Altonaer Museum Altonaer Museum is an art museum in the suburb of Altona in Hamburg, Germany. The museum association was established in 1863, when Altona was still part of Denmark. The museum has a collection of over 300 000 objects connected to the cul ...

. A collection of letters, diaries and newspaper clippings is kept at the .

Selected paintings

File:Hockner-Street.jpg, Street Scene with Children and Musicians File:Hockner-Altenwarder.jpg, Landscape Near

Altenwerder Altenwerder () is a quarter in the Harburg borough of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. The former village on an Elbe island became a port expansion area in the 1960s. In the 1970s the city of Hamburg announced the formal ...

File:Hockner-Port.jpg, The Port of Hamburg File:Hockner-Ruin.jpg, View of a Ruin

References

External links

More works by Höckner
@ ArtNet

@ Stadtansichten von Wedel {{DEFAULTSORT:Hockner, Rudolf 1864 births 1942 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German landscape painters German Impressionist painters People from Wedel People from Erzgebirgskreis 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links