Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-02-21
DUSSELDORF.
The Great Modern school of
Painting.

The Great Modern School of
Painting.
From the London Saturday Review
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SCHOOL.
The two papers we have published on
recent art in Munich and Berlin may
find suitable sequel in some account of
the parent school of Dusseldorf. There
is scarcely painter of note, hardly
phase-whether Christian and spiritual,
or realistic and naturalistic-in the his
tory of German art during the last half
century, which has not been more or
less intimately connected with this small
town upon the Rhine. The great
Cornelius-termedb by some the Goethe
of the art of painting-Was born at
Dusseldorf; and to Cornelius, a man
conspicuous from his youth up for large,
comprehensive intellect, the Academy
of Dusseldorf owed its resusoitation,
and art in general that signal revival OF
which Munich, Berlin, and other chief
cities give signs in our times. This
giant, the Michael Angelo of Germany,
gathered around him a compact band of
scholars, ardent as himself for the reYi-
val of fresco-painting. The new school
received timely encouragement from
King Ludwig in a commission to decor
ate the then recently erected GlyptOthek
in Munich. The cartoons of this
arduous work were prepared during the
winter months in Dusseldorf, and then,
when summer came, masters and pupils
went to the Bavarian capital to carry
out the frescOes. In like manner at
Coblenz, Bonn. and the Castle of Heltorf,
" monumental art got fair start thus
the Italian method of fresoo- painting
learnt by Cornelius, SehadOW, Neit, and
Overlook in Rome, having been trans
planted to Dusseldorf, took root through
out the land of Germany, where it
abides and fourishes even to this day.
HOW THE SCHOOL STRUGGLED INTO LIFE.
Yet it was not without difficulty that
the Young school of Dusseldorf strug-
gled into life and paid its way. The
fame of the Academy became so great
that pupils flocked in from all parts
but success brought with it perplexity
! Genius became IN excess of the demand
the market was Over-stocked. The
secret had been discovered whereby
high art could be manufactured whole
sale, and yet for the commodity when
produced no purchasers were forthcom-
ing. Fortunately King Ludwig wa:
ready for the rescue. Moreover, the
emergency called into existence the
famed " Kunstverein fur die Rheinlande
und Westphalen,' an Art Union local
lied within the academy, With the ex
press purpose of subsidizing works
which proved in advance of public taste
1t is interesting to know that this Kunst
yerein on its twenty first anniversary wa
able TO announce that in addition Il
nine hundred great and small picture
distributed by lottery, 1t had been th'
means of securing to churches, botf
Protestant and Romish, to museums anC
public buildings, twenty-seyen altar
pieces and eleven large oil pictures
Among the works thus fostered are tht
famous frescoes from the history 0
Charlemagne, which we recently had tn
pleasure of studying in Aix-la -Chapelle
; also NAV be mentioned a masterpiece b,
Overback, now in Cologne Cathedral
likewise Professor Keller's engraving
the largest in line ever executed-O
Rafaelle's Disputa." Dusseldorf, in
deed, as CUR readers are probably aware
= has long been chief center for the pub
lication of religious prints. We remem
Der to have seen in Rome, twenty year
ago, in the studio of Oyerback, then i
the Cene Palace, designs in eharcOa
prepared expressly for engraving i
Dusseldorf. And we have now before u
several hundred cheap popular print
e published BY the well-aecredited "Verei
zur Verbreitung religiOser Bilder, i
Dusseldorf engraved from pictures b
! the best known painters in the DusseI
dorf christian School" Such al
among the means taken to educate tn
9 people of Germany up to the standar
> of high art, In fact Dusseldorf does {
} much for religious art in twelve-mont
= as London in a century.
THE DEMOCRATIC ART SPIRIT OF TIL
a scHaoL.
u The Dusseldorf Academy has littl
II expressly distinctive in its curriculum
g study. More worthy Of remark is Il
e manual culture and the relation
d brotherhood maintained between pr
fessors and pupils. While other aead
d mics may be compared to mOnarchies
:, oligarchies, that of Dusseldorf is by
It liberty and equality, like a republi
IS The Director does not constitute himse
20 a dictator: no one mind, no exclusi'
e. art-manner dominates Thus, durir
re half a century, Dusseldorf, notwitl
in standing the ascendaBey of the so-call'
rs spiritual or Christian school, has giv'
a equal rights and privileges to all style
es including, of course, the naturalist
I'd Even at this moment are found with
In her borders painters in manner wide
tb the poles asunder. Among the numb
er may be enumerated Professors Deg,
al Ittenbaeh, and Carl Muller, leaders
de the co-caIled Christian school; BEND
nd mann, illustrious by works taken frC
ne Jewish history; Tidemand, the faith
delineator of peasant life in Norwa
Vautier and Salentin, devoted to reali
he and naturahsm and Professors Ia
-er and Andreas and Oswald Achenbat
famous throughout Europe as paint,