Wilhelm Lichtenheld - Canale Grande im Mondschein

Wilhelm Lichtenheld (13 October 1817,

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 ...

- 25 March 1891,

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 landscape and architectural painter; known for atmospheric evening and nighttime scenes.

Biography

He was the son of an actor at the Hamburg Stadt-Theater. Inspired by his father's theatrical work, he originally planned to be a stage painter and took drawing lessons from an older brother. In 1839, he studied 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 ...

. He was able to study there for only one year, so he completed his artistic education by copying the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

at the

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pin ...

. He also began creating his own original works;

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes at first, then romantic landscapes with

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often c ...

, often painted by moonlight. He became a member of the

Kunstverein München The Kunstverein München (km) is a non-profit art association located in the Hofgarten in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 1823 and is one of the oldest German art associations. The Kunstverein, a privately sponsored association with almost 1,3 ...

in 1840, and began participating in their exhibitions. Later, he took a study trip to Italy and visited Venice. His activities and interests were wide-ranging, including botany, fishing, hunting and gymnastics. He was also an avid collector. On numerous occasions, he performed as an actor, in local festivities. His seventieth birthday was a public celebration.

Sources

External links

Matrikelbuch Akademie München

More works by Lichtenheld
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenheld, Wilhelm 1817 births 1891 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German genre painters German landscape painters Painters from Hamburg