German Fine Arts Handout

The German culture in the nineteenth century in the aspect of art has been respected for numerous years. The nineteenth century experienced the transition from romanticism to a type of real or what we consider early modern art.  In the early nineteenth century the art and the music were all of a romantic aura but by the 1850’s there began a transition to an early form of modern art and even some of what we described today as contemporary art.

Painters

Caspar David Friedrich (September 5, 1774 – May 7, 1840)

•        19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation
•        He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren trees or Gothic ruins.

Philipp Otto Runge (23 July 1777 – 2 December 1810)

•       Was a Romantic German painter and draughtsman. He made a late start to his career and died young, nonetheless he is considered among the best German Romantic painters

Adrian Ludwig Richter (September 28, 1803 – June 19, 1884),

•       A German painter and etcher, was born at Dresden, the son of the engraver Karl August Richter, from whom he received his training; but he was strongly influenced by Erhard and Chodowiecki.

Poets and Writers

Joseph Baron von Eichendorff (March 10, 1788, died Nov. 26, 1857)

•       Poet and novelist, considered one of the great German Romantic lyricists

Heinrich Heine (13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856)

•        Was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic
•        He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry

Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann (24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822)

•        Better known by his pen name E. T. A. Hoffmann (Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann)
•        Romantic author of fantasy and horror, a jurist, composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist
•        He is the subject and hero of Jacques Offenbach's famous but fictitious opera The Tales of Hoffmann, Author of the novelette The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, on which the famous ballet The Nutcracker is based

Composers

Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883)

•       German composer, conductor, theatre director and polemicist primarily known for his operas
•       Wagner's compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs: musical themes associated with individual characters, places, ideas or plot elements.
•        Unlike most other opera composers, Wagner wrote both the music and libretto for every one of his stage works. Perhaps the two best-known extracts from his works are the Ride of the Valkyries from the opera Die Walküre, and the Wedding March (Bridal Chorus) from the opera Lohengrin.

Ludwig van Beethoven (December 1770 – 26 March 1827)

•        Composer and pianist.
•      A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music,
•        He remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers.
•       His best known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 concertos for piano, 32 piano sonatas, and 16 string quartets.

  
Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949)

·       Was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras.

·       He is known for his operas

o   Especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and other orchestral works,

§  Death and Transfiguration,

§  Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks,

§  Sprach Zarathustra,

§  An Alpine Symphony

§  Metamorphosen

Works Cited

"E. T. A. Hoffmann." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._T._A._Hoffmann>.

"Heinrich Heine." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Heine>.

"Joseph, Baron Von Eichendorff (German Writer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180916/Joseph-baron-von-Eichendorff>.

"Ludwig Van Beethoven." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven>.

"Richard Strauss." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Strauss>.

"Richard Wagner." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner>.