The German painter, etcher and lithographer Adolph von Menzel (1815-1905) ranks alongside Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) as one of the most innovative figures in German Art of the 19th Century. However, unlike Friedrich, who believed deeply in the romantic power of nature, Menzel believed in Realism and strove for an objective, true-to-life representation of the world. A master of drawing and various types of print-making, as well as realist painting, he created over 10,000 paintings, drawings and fine art prints, including 400 illustrations for the life of Emperor Frederick the Great. His canvases - including history paintings and genre scenes, as well as portraits - are typically well researched, acutely observant and highly detailed. His palette, treatment of light and overall style - as exemplified for instance by Living Room with the Artist's Sister (1847, Bavarian State Art Collection, Neue Pinakothek, Munich) pre-dated French Impressionism by twenty five years. Menzel now ranks alongside the best modern artists of 19th century Germany.
For full biographical notes on Adolph Menzel see part 1. For earlier works by Menzel see parts 1 - 8 also.
This is part 9 of a 10-part series on the works of Adolph Menzel:
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1886 Portrait of a man in profile
black chalk 19.5 x 12 cm
Private Collection |
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1886 Trees in wooden tubs
graphite on paper 20.3 x 12.3 cm
Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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1886 Woman from the Tyrol
graphite on paper 21.5 x 12.5 cm |
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1887 Coming out of church
gouache 15 x 11 cm
Private Collection |
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1887 Heads of two old men and a hand holding a cup
Princeton University Art Museum |
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1887 Honorary Citizen's Diploma from Hamburg City Council to G.C. Schwabe
watercolour and gouache on parchment 60.5 x 46 cm
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany |
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1887 Silent sympathy
etching 29.9 x 22.5 cm (image)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1887 Three hobos (tramps) walking on the artist's signature
graphite on light brown wove paper 19.2 x 18.5 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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1888 Studies of a man drinking
graphite on wove paper 20.2 x 12.4 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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1888 Studies of figures in profile
graphite with stumping and touches of watercolour
21.5 x 14.2 cm |
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1888 Study of a woman
carpenter's pencil with stumping on paper 20.3 x 12.7 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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1888 The Great Staircase at the Chateau of Pommersfelden
graphite with stumping 31.2 x 22.9 cm
Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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1889 Italianisch lernen
etching 25 x 29.4 cm (plate) |
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1889 Kurhausstrasse at Kissingen after a storm
graphite with stumping 18.1 x 11.7 cm
Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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1889 Old man with head turned away
graphite with stumping and black chalk 20.6 x 12.8 cm |
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c1889 Studies of figures, heads and hands
charcoal 13.5 x 26 cm |
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1890 A sermon in the open air
wood engraving 16.2 x 12.3 cm (image)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1890 At Kissingen
wood engraving 17.6 x 10.9 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1890 At the spinnet
wood engraving 10.8 x 13.2 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1890 Hand studies with a prayer book
carpenter's pencil with stumping on vellum 12.8 x 20.6 cm |
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1890 Portrait of an old woman in profile
graphite and black chalk, with stumping, on light buff wove paper 20.4 x 13 cm |
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1890 Studies of a standing woman
graphite with stumping 20.4 x 12.8 cm |
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1890 Study of a woman in profile
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartfoed, CT |
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1890 Study of an old lady
(clearly the same figure as above)
black chalk and stumping 20.6 x 13 cm |
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1890c Landscape with a washerwoman
graphite with stumping on wove paper 20.5 x 12.8 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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1890c The right hand of the artist
graphite 14.5 x 7.8 cm |
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1891 A bearded man in half-profile
graphite on paper 21 x 13 cm |
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1891 A bearded man in profile
graphite with stumping and black chalk 20.5 x 12.9 cm |
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1891 Contribution
wood engraving 8.9 x 13.2 cm (image)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1891 Head of a woman, downward gaze
graphite with stumping and black chalk 19.8 x 12.8 cm |
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1891 Seated woman
graphite with stumping and black chalk 20.5 x 12.9 cm |
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1891 Sharpening tools in a village smithy
wood engraving 9.8 x 13.3 cm (image)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1891 Study of an old woman from Magdeburg
graphite on paper 22 x 13.3 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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1891 Tiger
wood engraving 12.6 x 19.4 cm (image)
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, CA |
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1892 A young woman seated in profile
black chalk and charcoal, with stumping and scraping
39.2 x 25.8 cm |
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1892 On the way through beautiful nature
watercolour and gouache on paper 28 x 38 cm |
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1892 Outing in a Dinghy
oil on canvas 38 x 23.5 cm
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany |
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1892 Portrait of a woman in a hat
graphite with stumping and black chalk 20.8 x 13.1 cm |
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1892 Quiet corner
oil on canvas mounted on wood panel 37.5 x 22.5 cm
Städelsche Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany |
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1892 Three studies of an elegant woman and a left hand
black chalk and stumping 21 x 13.1 cm |
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1893 Breakfast buffet given by a high-class bakery in Kissingen
gouache 17 x 25 cm Private Collection |
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1893 Bust of a woman, seen from behind
carpenters pencil with stumping 41.4 x 28.9 cm (sheet)
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio |
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1893 Houses behind leafless trees
graphite with stumping 22.9 x 31.2 cm
Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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1894 Early morning in the café
gouache 18.3 x 11.7 cm
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany |
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1894 Portrait of a man
graphite and black chalk with stumping on wove paper
30.8 x 22.5 cm
Detroit Institute of Arts, MI |
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1894 View of the Collegiate Church 'Unser Lieben Frau zur Alten Kapelle' in Regensburg
gouache 40.2 x 26.2 cm
Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany |
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1894 Woman with a crushed velvet hat
graphite 21 x 13 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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1895 Das letzte (The last)
etching on chine collé 19.5 x 14.8 cm
© The Trustees of the British Museum, London |
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1895 Giovanni Boldini
oil on canvas 41 x 54.5 cm
© Nationalgalerie der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz |
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1895 Head of an old man, his eyes raised
black chalk and stumping 13 x 7.8 cm |
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1895 Untitled
graphite on cream wove paper 17.8 x 11.7 cm
Detroit Institute of Arts, MI |
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1895c A priest holding a monstrance
black chalk laid down on passepartout 24.5 x 15 cm
Private Collection |
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1896 Farmhouse
graphite on paper 22.9 x 31 cm
Private Collection |
