German Masters of the Nineteenth Century: Paintings and Drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany has been published in connection with the largest and most important exhibition devoted to nineteenth-century German paintings and drawings ever held in North America. Nineteenth-century German art, eclectic in its expression, was strongly influenced by the political, social, and economic forces of an intellectually fertile age. The ninety-six paintings and fifty-four drawings included in this catalogue focus on the five major German artistic movements from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth century: Romanticism, the Nazarenes, Idealism, Realism, and Impressionism. Among the artists represented are Friedrich, Runge, Blechen, Cornelius, Koch, Leibl, Lenbach, Menzel, Thoma, Corinth, Liebermann, and Slevogt.
German Masters of the Nineteenth Century provides a penetrating view of the pluralistic character of nineteenth-century German art. Essays by Professor Gert Schiff, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and Dr. Stephan Waetzoldt, General Director, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, provide a careful examination of artists and styles and an analysis of the historical, social, and aesthetic contexts so crucial to a full understanding of nineteenth-century German art. This volume also includes a biography of each artist and an extensive bibliography.
The works included here, their accompanying texts, and the scholarly essays comprise a publication indispensable to scholars and art lovers with an interest in this long-neglected but significant period of European art.