Rudolf Köselitz (born 23 October 1861 in

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, 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 level). Hi ...

; died 21 January 1948 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) was a German

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

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 complicat ...

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 Johann Heinrich Köselitz (10 January 1854 – 15 August 1918) was a German author and composer. He is known for his longtime friendship with Friedrich Nietzsche, who gave him the pseudonym Peter Gast. Life Köselitz was born in Annaberg, Sa ...

, a German author and composer. Both the brothers received early education in

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

. Heinrich turned to studying music while Rudolf was drawn to painting. Rudolf's talent was discovered by a drawing teacher at the secondary school. 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 German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Art Academy An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-secon ...

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

art academy An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-secon ...

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

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

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 (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and lived in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

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 (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

, Zwißler published 40

collotype Collotype is a gelatin-based photographic printing process invented by Alphonse Poitevin in 1855 to print images in a wide variety of tones without the need for halftone screens. The majority of collotypes were produced between the 1870s and ...

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 The Frohnauer Hammer is an historic hammer mill in Frohnau, a village in the municipality of Annaberg-Buchholz in the Ore Mountains of southeast Germany. The mill is an important witness to proto-industrial development in the Ore Mountains. ...

, 1889) by Rudolf Köselitz hung in the

Berlin National Gallery The National Gallery (german: Nationalgalerie) in Berlin, Germany, is a museum for art of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It is part of the Berlin State Museums. From the Alte Nationalgalerie, which was built for it and opened in 1876, its exh ...

right next to

Adolph von Menzel Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel (8 December 18159 February 1905) was a German Realist artist noted for drawings, etchings, and paintings. Along with Caspar David Friedrich, he is considered one of the two most prominent German painters of th ...

'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 ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

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

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , 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 in L ...

, Teased by

Bacchantes In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids, ...

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 (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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