Wilhelm
von Kaulbach

German painter and graphic artist, was born in Arolsen (Germany) 15 Oct 1805. In 1822-1823 he studied at the düsseldorf Academy of arts under Peter von Cornelius; in 1825 followed a teacher in Munich. In 1849 Kaulbach changed who left for Berlin by Cornelius as Director of the Munich Academy of fine arts and held this post until the end of life. The artist was engaged in book illustration; it should be noted his illustrations for the Novel about a Fox, Faust by Goethe, the gospel, the works of William Shakespeare and F. Schiller.

Kaulbach died in Munich on 7 April 1874.

Wilhelm von Kaulbach (it. Wilhelm von Kaulbach; 15 Oct 1805, Arolsen on 7 April 1874 in Munich) is an artist, one of the most significant representatives of German historical painting.

In 1821 Wilhelm von Kaulbach enrolled in the Dusseldorf Academy of art and studied with Peter von Cornelius, later, in 1826, moved to Munich and for some time studied at the Munich Academy of arts. In 1835 Kaulbach took a trip to Italy, where he created a large number of drawings and sketches based on the nature of Italy. The first independent works of Kaulbach in Munich are the ceiling painting "Apollo and muses" in the Odeon, several frescoes in the arcades of the Munich Hofgarten, 16 of the wall paintings (scenes from the story of Cupid and psyche in the Palace of Duke Maximilian, several of the same paintings in the Royal Palace and a number of images on themes from poems by Klopstock in the "Konigsbau". In these works have already found their expression remarkable talent of the artist as in drawing and in composition. However, such pattern did not match the dreams of the artist about the creation of works that reflect the dramatic and pathetic events, what were two amazing expressiveness of the figure to "the Criminal from lost honor," and "the madhouse" by Schiller. In 1834-37. Kaulbach created undoubtedly their best work: the majestic "Battle of the Huns". This work was followed by no less significant a picture of Kaulbach "Destruction of Jerusalem" (1839-45). The mentioned works resulted in the artist name and fame throughout Germany, making the Prussian king Frederick Wilhelm IV entrusted him with the painting of the walls of the Grand staircase of the Berlin New Museum. Kaulbach together with the students wrote six encaustic paintings symbolic-historical content ("Babel", "the Destruction of Jerusalem," "the Battle of the Huns", a long frieze of "Game genius", "ISIS", "Venus", "Saga", "Painting", "Sculpture", "Moses", "Solon", etc.), which is the best talking about the strong and weak properties of the artist: his rare ingenuity, thoughtfulness, rigor of his drawing, the ability to intelligently and clearly characterize and group the shapes, however, about the coldness of his imagination, mostly about a reflective attitude to their task than about the living, the immediate inspiration. For all that the paintings on the staircase of the New Museum is considered the largest monument of monumental painting of the XIX century, the Most successful of these paintings is located over all other paintings of the frieze, in which various aspects of world history allegorically represented in the images of the little geniuses playing among the arabesques.

Humor Kaulbach shown in these figures, as more clearly revealed in his illustration to "Reynard the Fox" by Goethe, published shortly after the writing of the Berlin paintings. More successful are the paintings on the external walls of the New Pinakothek in Munich, entrusted to him by the end of "Destruction of Jerusalem". In these frescoes Kaulbach tried to satirically display the history of contemporary German art and artistic venture of king Ludwig I. in Addition to these works the artist is worthy of mention even a few portraits, illustrations to Goethe (his women) and the dramas of Shakespeare and Schiller, wall painting in the Nuremberg German national Museum, which depicts the Emperor Otto III at the grave of the tomb of Charlemagne, "Battle of Salamis" in Munich Maximilianeum, "Murder of Caesar" (charcoal drawing), "Nero," "Dance of death" (four figure) and unfinished cardboard "doomsday".

Kaulbach died during the great cholera epidemic in Munich in 1874