Hermann Hendrich
Encyclopedia
Biography
Hermann Hendrich was born in the vicinity of the storied KyffhäuserKyffhäuser
The Kyffhäuser is a range of hills located on the border of the German state of Thuringia with Saxony-Anhalt. It stands on the southern edge of the Harz. The range has a length of and a width of . It reaches its highest point at the Kulpenberg , situated in Thuringia...
, his parents were Auguste Friederike Hendrich née Ziegler and the baker August Hendrich. From 1870 to 1872 he served his apprenticeship as lithographer; one year shorter than the regular duration due to his evident talent. He then started a job in a Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
ian lamp factory where he had to draw a catalogue. At that time, he first attended a Wagnerian opera, Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, and the wish emerged to be able to draw such musical impressions.
In 1875, Hendrich attended a job at a Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
art institution where he had to lithograph oil paintings. in 1876, he visited Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
for further art studies. The jury of the "Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung" (great Berlin art exhibition) disapproved however the exhibition of his paintings. Hendrich then started a job as painter in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. In 1882, he married Clara (Kläre) Becker which he met there. On their honeymoon trip they visited Hendrich's brother in Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
. Here, he exhibited for the first time his paintings. After some initial sales, the remaining entire amount of pictures was bought by a single art dealer. Using the earned money Hendrich then made a study trip through the USA.
To further deepen his education, in 1885 he went back to Germany. He started lessons by Professor Wenglein in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, but then moved to Berlin, and made a study trip to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. In 1886, Hendrich entered a studio of the Berlin Academy of Art and received a stipend from the Prussion Ministry of Education and Arts. His paintings were firstly exhibited in Germany.
The Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
1889 bought a picture from Hendrich, a highlight for his recognition.
In 1901, the "Walpurgishalle" in Thale
Thale
Thale is a town in the Harz district in Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the river Bode, approximately 8 km west of Quedlinburg. It is the terminus of the Magdeburg–Thale railway.- History :...
, a building in a pseudo old-Germanic style was inaugurated. Hendrich did the paintings in the interiour and created sketches that were used by Bernhard Sehring to create the architecture. Hendrich considered this as climax of his work.
In Schreiberhau, 1903 Henrich erected the "Sagenhalle", inspired by the "Walpurgishalle".
Hendrich was a co-founder of the Werdandibund in 1905, a society against the modern developments of art, considered as decadent.
In 1910 the title professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
was awarded to Hendrich.
The "Nibelungenhalle" at the Drachenfels
Drachenfels (Siebengebirge)
The Drachenfels is a mountain in the Siebengebirge mountain range near Bonn, Germany. The ruined castle atop the mountain bears the same name...
was opened in 1913 on the occasion of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's centenary. It contains twelve paintings by Hendrich with scenes from Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
.
In 1921, he published illustrations for an edition of Das Märchen (also known as The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily
The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily
The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily is a fairy tale by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published in 1795 in Friedrich Schiller's German magazine Die Horen . It portrays in imaginative form Goethe's impressions of Schiller's On the Aesthetic Education of Man in a series of Letters...
), a 1795 story written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
.
In 1926, the "Halle Deutscher Sagenring" in Burg an der Wupper (today part of Solingen
Solingen
Solingen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and with a 2009 population of 161,366 is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land...
) with Hendrich's paintings from the Percival
Percival
Percival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. In Welsh literature his story is allotted to the historical Peredur...
saga was opened.
Hendrich died 1931 in Schreiberhau in an accident.
External links
- Walpurgishalle paintings of Hermann Hendrich (German)
- Förderverein Hermann Hendrich (association of friends of Hermann Hendrich) (German, English version available)