Richard Augustus Zimmermann, genre

Genre painting

Genre works, also called genre scenes or genre views, are pictorial representations in any of various media that represent scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street scenes. Such representations may be realistic, imagined, or...

 and landscape painter, was born in Zittau

Zittau

Zittau is a city in the south east of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, close to the border tripoint of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. , there are 28,638 people in the city. It is part of the Görlitz district....

 in 1820.

He was the son of the impresario Karl Friedrich August Zimmermann, and his three brothers, Albert

Albert Zimmermann

August Albert Zimmermann was a German painter. He was the brother of painters Max, Richard, and Robert Zimmermann, and served as Max's teacher. He was primarily self-taught as a painter, but did study at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts Munich.-Reference:...

, Max

Max Zimmermann

August Maximilian Zimmermann, painter and lithographer, was born at Zittau, in Saxony, July 7, 1811. His father, the impresario Karl Friedrich August Zimmermann, brought him up as a musician, but in his leisure he practised lithography...

, and Robert

Robert Zimmermann (painter)

August Robert Zimmermann, a landscape painter, was born at Zittau in 1815. Among his pictures are The Innthal, near Kufstcin, and a Waterfall, both dated 1863. He died at Munich in 1864. He was the brother of painters Albert, Richard, and Max Zimmermann.-Reference:...

, have all been well-known painters. He was a pupil of the first, and in 1838 followed him to 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...

, devoting himself, in opposition to his advice, to landscape painting instead of history

History painting

History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...

. The change, however, proved successful, and his winter landscapes, forest and mountain views, village sketches, and sea pieces became popular. In his later period he adopted the style of Berchem. He retired for a time to Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, where he worked for a goldsmith

Goldsmith

A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...

. He died after a short illness in 1875.

Reference