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Moritz von Schwind, (born Jan.
21, 1804, Vienna, Austria—died Feb. 8, 1871, Munich, Ger.),
Austrian-born German painter who was a leading early
Romantic portrayer of an idealized Austria and Germany—of
knights, castles, and the provincial charm of his own time.
Schwind was something of a
bohemian in his youth. He joined the composer Franz
Schubert’s circle of friends, roomed with him for a while,
and painted the composer and his piano soirees. Like
Schubert, he was neglected in his native city. Often in
arrears, he once painted a signboard for a coffee house to
settle his debts there.
After a fit of despair, and
with the encouragement of the painter Julius Schnorr von
Carolsfeld, Schwind moved in 1828 to Munich, where his work
quickly fetched high prices. In 1847 he became a professor
at the Munich Academy, painting a set of historical cartoons
for the famed Wartburg Castle and a triptych for the Church
of Our Lady at Munich. His travels abroad were followed by a
commission to paint the windows of the Glasgow Cathedral.
Schwind is best known,
however, for his pictures of honeymooners, leave-takers,
musing wanderers, and the like. In these, sentimentality is
tempered by genuine lyricism, sturdy craftsmanship, and a
flair for precise detail.
Schwind’s closing years
brought more commissions than he could handle; but this
period was blighted by failing vision and by the sorrows of
the Franco-German War, in which two of his nephews died in a
single day.
Encyclopædia Britannica |
Farewell at Dawn
1859
Oil on cardboard, 36 x 24 cm
Nationalgalerie, Berlin
A Player with a Hermit
c. 1846
Oil on cardboard, 61 x 46 cn
Neue Pinakothek, Munich
Early Morning
1858
Oil on canvas, 34 x 40 cm
Sammlung Schack, Munich
A Symphony
1852
Oil on canvas, 169 x 100 cm
Neue Pinakothek, Munich
A Symphony (detail)
A Symphony (detail)
A Symphony (detail)
The Dream of Erwin von Steinbach
1822
Pen and pencil on paper, 300 x 220 mm
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich |
