Rudolf Köselitz (born 23 October 1861 in

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, in eastern Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea le ...

; died 21 January 1948 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 German

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 surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

Illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

Early life and education

Rudolf Köselitz was born in 1861 to Gustav Hermann Köselitz, vice mayor of

. He was the younger brother of Heinrich Köselitz, a German author and composer. Both the brothers received early education in

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

. Heinrich turned to studying music while Rudolf was drawn to painting. Rudolf's talent was discovered by a drawing teacher at the

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

. The latter proposed to the father that the fifteen-year-old study at the

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 ...

Art Academy An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

, which the latter also allowed. In 1881, Köselitz joined

art academy An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

to continue his studies. He was taught there by Carl Theodor von Piloty. His first study trip took him to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

in the same year. There he was inspired by the Italian Renaissance and met here with his brother Heinrich, who was getting musical inspiration for his opera - The Lion of Venice (opera). Later, he returned to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and lived in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

until 1900.

Personal life

He was married Marie B. Bruhm and had two daughters; Doris and Johanna/Hanna. The second daughter died in 1927 in a boat accident.

Work and influence

In 1901 the renowned art publisher in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

, Zwißler published 40

collotype Collotype is a gelatin-based photographic process, photographic printing process invented by Alphonse Poitevin in 1855 to print images in a wide variety of Tone (color), tones without the need for Halftone, halftone screens. The majority of coll ...

reproductions based on watercolors by Rudolf Köselitz. Köselitz has become particularly well-known for his works, which have the Ore Mountains and its people as their content, for example. B. the Frohnau hammer and its last hammer lords Martin, or the city views of Annaberg. For the Christmas eve song, written in 1799 by Johanne Amalie von Elterlein, he created the illustrations of song postcards around 1910. Further works were created in his adopted home Munich, where he joined the ''Association of Munich Watercolor Artists'', and from 1910 in his studio in Altfreimann near

. Some genre pictures with idyllic content also fall into this creative period, some of which, as commissioned works, reflect the taste of the time. His main works, which art historians consider to be the last offshoots of Munich Romanticism, include: a. Naiad Dance (''Najadentanz)'', Love Ancestors (''Liebesahnen)'', Bathing Children (''Badende Kinder)'', Summer (''Sommer)'', The Brittle (''Die Spröde)'' and the Witch's Dance (''Hexentanz)''. But his watercolors such as the grain harvest, village parzen or chess players have also received great attention in numerous exhibitions. In 1901, the painting "Inside a hammer mill" ( Frohnauer Hammer, 1889) by Rudolf Köselitz hung in the Berlin National Gallery right next to Adolph von Menzel's famous ''"The Iron Rolling Mill"''. Back then, art criticism placed the work of both artists in an equally appreciative relationship in terms of content and craftsmanship. His works are widely scattered in galleries and museums, mainly in German-speaking countries. The most extensive retrospective collection to date (of 174 exhibits) opened on 21 July 2012 in the ''Erzhammer Cultural Center'' in

on the occasion of the artist's 150th birthday. Critics said he had a certain naivety in his artistic expression because of his closeness to the people. Köselitz was involved in the promotion of the watercolor technique in Germany.

Notable works

* Bookplate design for Margareta Geipel, late 19th–mid-20th century. * ''"Morning Walk"'', Watercolor, c.1900. * Two Designs for Bookplates: Curt Geipel and Rolf Geipel, c.1920.

Gallery

Köselitz-Summer.jpg, The Morning Walk Köselitz-Flute.jpg, Forest

Nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, Listening to a Flutist Köselitz-Chess.jpg, The Chess Game Köselitz-Nude.jpg, Female Nude Köselitz-Cupid.jpg, Sleeping

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

, Teased by

Bacchantes In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the '' thiasus''. Their name, which comes from μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to rave, to be mad; to rage, to be angr ...

References

Bibliography

* Hugo Christof and Heinrich Meyer, ''Heinrich Schaumberger und Rudolf Köselitz, Dichter und Illustrator''. J. Zwissler, 1901 - 135 pages. * Peter Rochhaus, ''Kurz vor dem Vergessen – Zu Leben und Werk des Malers und Illustrators Rudolf Köselitz.'' (Streifzüge durch die Geschichte des oberen Erzgebirges, Heft 24) Annaberg-Buchholz, 1998.
PDF
* Gotthard B. Schicker, ''Münchner Romantiker – Maler der Erzgebirgsheimat.'' In: Dicknischl – Erzgebirgsleute von damals und heute. Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft Marienberg mbH, 2008, * Gotthard B. Schicker, ''Köselitz: Weltbürger aus Annaberg – Eine Familien- und Stadtbiographie'', ERZDruck, Marienberg 2017,

External links

*
Rudolf Köselitz in HeidICON
Illustrations of the flying leaves (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

:Illustrationen der Fliegenden Blätter) {{DEFAULTSORT:Köselitz, Rudolf 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists 19th-century German illustrators 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists People from Annaberg-Buchholz 1861 births 1948 deaths 20th-century German illustrators