Wilhelm Hensel
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Hensel was a German
painter, brother of Luise Hensel
, husband to Fanny Mendelssohn
, and brother-in-law to Felix Mendelssohn
.
Wilhelm Hensel was born on 6 July 1794 in the German town of Trebbin
, in the present-day state
of Brandenburg
, to a protestant preacher. He was a pupil at the royal school of architecture, but soon discovered his true passion, painting. His studies were interrupted when he joined the military. Through this, he took advantage of two deployments in Paris
to learn painting techniques. However, he experimented with writing and poetry, and enjoyed enough success that he once considered giving up painting.
Because many of Hensel's family members were famous themselves, and perhaps sacrificing his development as a painter, Hensel painted or drew portrait
s almost exclusively, although he produced some drawings for almanac
s, and produced artwork found in some of the halls of the Schauspielhaus, an important theater in Berlin
. In 1825 he went, with the support of the king, to Italy, where he was employed in painting copies of some of Rafael's works.
In 1828, Hensel moved back to Berlin, where he became the royal court painter
, and both a professor and member of the Academic Senate. His activities as an artist were interrupted in 1848, when revolutions broke out all over Germany, and Hensel became an avid advocate of the conservative political parties of the time. Afterwards, he settled back into being an artist, and died on 26 November 1861. The German author Theodor Fontane
memorialized Hensel in the last chapter of his work Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg (English: Walks through the center of Brandenburg). Among his most well-known works are Christus in der Wüste (English: Christ in the Desert), Kaiser Wenzel, Italienische Landleute am antiken Brunnen (English: Italian Peasants by an Old Fountain), and over 1000 drawings of well-known people of the German romantic
period.
His wife, Fanny Mendelssohn
, and his brother-in-law, Felix Mendelssohn
, were both important pianists and composers, but Hensel himself apparently was entirely unmusical: when he participated in the premiere of Felix's Son and Stranger
at a private performance honoring the silver anniversary of the Mendelssohn parents in 1826, despite determined prompting he was unable to sing his part of the mayor, even though it comprised only a few bars of the single note F.
Hensel's sister, Luise Hensel, was a widely-read religious poet.
He had one child, Sebastian Ludwig Felix Hensel (1830–1898). Hensel's grandchildren include the philosopher Paul Hensel
(1860–1930) and the mathematician Kurt Hensel
(1861–1941).
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
painter, brother of Luise Hensel
Luise Hensel
Luise Hensel was a German religious author and poet.- Life :Luise Hensel, the sister of Wilhelm Hensel and the sister-in-law of the composer of Fanny Mendelssohn was born on March 30, 1798 in the small town of Linum in the German Federal State of Brandenburg. After the death of her father in 1809,...
, husband to Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn , later Fanny Hensel, was a German pianist and composer, the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn...
, and brother-in-law to Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
.
Trebbin
Trebbin is a town in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Nuthe, 14 km north of Luckenwalde, and 36 km southwest of Berlin ....
, in the present-day state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, to a protestant preacher. He was a pupil at the royal school of architecture, but soon discovered his true passion, painting. His studies were interrupted when he joined the military. Through this, he took advantage of two deployments in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to learn painting techniques. However, he experimented with writing and poetry, and enjoyed enough success that he once considered giving up painting.
Because many of Hensel's family members were famous themselves, and perhaps sacrificing his development as a painter, Hensel painted or drew portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s almost exclusively, although he produced some drawings for almanac
Almanac
An almanac is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, and tide tables, containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar etc...
s, and produced artwork found in some of the halls of the Schauspielhaus, an important theater in 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...
. In 1825 he went, with the support of the king, to Italy, where he was employed in painting copies of some of Rafael's works.
In 1828, Hensel moved back to Berlin, where he became the royal court painter
Court painter
A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or noble family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Especially in the late Middle Ages, they were often given the office of valet de chambre...
, and both a professor and member of the Academic Senate. His activities as an artist were interrupted in 1848, when revolutions broke out all over Germany, and Hensel became an avid advocate of the conservative political parties of the time. Afterwards, he settled back into being an artist, and died on 26 November 1861. The German author Theodor Fontane
Theodor Fontane
Theodor Fontane was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist writer.-Youth:Fontane was born in Neuruppin into a Huguenot family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary, his father's profession. He became an...
memorialized Hensel in the last chapter of his work Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg (English: Walks through the center of Brandenburg). Among his most well-known works are Christus in der Wüste (English: Christ in the Desert), Kaiser Wenzel, Italienische Landleute am antiken Brunnen (English: Italian Peasants by an Old Fountain), and over 1000 drawings of well-known people of the German romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
period.
His wife, Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn , later Fanny Hensel, was a German pianist and composer, the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn...
, and his brother-in-law, Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, were both important pianists and composers, but Hensel himself apparently was entirely unmusical: when he participated in the premiere of Felix's Son and Stranger
Son and Stranger
Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde is a one-act Singspiel written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1829 to a German libretto by the composer's friend Karl Klingemann, a poet who would later provide the same service for the oratorio Elijah...
at a private performance honoring the silver anniversary of the Mendelssohn parents in 1826, despite determined prompting he was unable to sing his part of the mayor, even though it comprised only a few bars of the single note F.
Hensel's sister, Luise Hensel, was a widely-read religious poet.
He had one child, Sebastian Ludwig Felix Hensel (1830–1898). Hensel's grandchildren include the philosopher Paul Hensel
Paul Hensel
----Paul Hugo Hensel was a German philosopher, son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the mathematician Kurt Hensel , grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn and the painter Wilhelm Hensel, and a descendant of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.Hensel was born in...
(1860–1930) and the mathematician Kurt Hensel
Kurt Hensel
Kurt Wilhelm Sebastian Hensel was a German mathematician born in Königsberg, Prussia.He was the son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the philosopher Paul Hensel, grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn and the painter Wilhelm Hensel, and a descendant of the...
(1861–1941).