Theodor Horschelt (16 March 1829,

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 ...

– 3 April 1871, Munich) was a German painter who specialized in scenes from the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War () or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series o ...

Biography

Theodor Horschelt was the son of

ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

, Friedrich Horschelt. His older brother,

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

, was a portrait painter. Beginning in 1846, he went to 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 ...

where he was a student of the

history painter History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek mythology, Greek and Roman my ...

, Joseph Anton Rhomberg, but left him after a short period and attempted to learn drawing on his own. He initially focused on scenes from nature and imaginative portrayals of the Caucasian Wars. He soon took direction from Professor

Hermann Anschütz Hermann Anschütz (12 October 1802 – 30 August 1880) was a German painter and professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Anschütz was born in Koblenz. His father Jos ...

, learning precision and clarity of outline. After leaving the academy, he studied with more enthusiasm in the studios of Albrecht and Franz Adam and Julius Lange. He eventually decided to devote himself exclusively to war paintings, and began by doing sketches of horses at the Royal Stables in Stuttgart. In 1853, he made two study trips; one to Paris with

Friedrich Wilhelm Hackländer Friedrich Wilhelm Hackländer, in later life von Hackländer (1 November 1816 – 6 July 1877), was a German author. Life Hackländer was born in Burtscheid, now part of the city of Aachen, Germany. He was orphaned at the age of 12 and brough ...

and one to Spain with him and Christian Friedrich von Leins, where he mostly wandered about on horseback. He separated from his companions when they crossed to North Africa and rode on alone to

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. On his return to Munich in 1854, he painted several canvases on Arabian themes for

King William King William may refer to: People Bimbia * William I of Bimbia * William II of Bimbia () Britain and Ireland * William of England (disambiguation), multiple kings * William I, King of Scots (–1214), also known as William the Lion German Empir ...

. These works made it possible for him to take his long-planned trip to the Caucasus.

The Caucasus

Soon after his arrival there in 1858, he joined an expedition against the Lezghians. The following year, he was part of a military campaign in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

and participated in an attack on the headquarters of

Imam Shamil Imam Shamil (; ; ; ; ; 26 June 1797 – 4 February 1871) was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in the 1800s, the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (1840–1859), and a Sunni Muslim ...

, exposing himself to enemy fire. For his bravery, he was honored with the Grand Cross Star of the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

and a medal of the Order of St. Anna, both with swords. For two weeks in 1860, he toured with

Tsar Alexander II Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland fro ...

on a journey through the

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

, then joined Prince Albert of Prussia on a tour to Armenia and the shores of the Caspian, returning to Munich by way of Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1863. Once home, he began to produce the war paintings that would establish his reputation. A projected return to the Caucasus was thwarted by the start of 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 ...

and Horschelt died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

nine months later.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Horschelt, Theodor 1829 births 1871 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters Painters from Munich

Biography

The Caucasus

References

Further reading

External links