Heinrich Mucke

Heinrich Mucke (April 9, 1806-January 16, 1891) was a prominent Realist painter known for his liturgical and genre paintings as well as frescoes, which still adorn some of Germany's ancient castles and cathedrals. His paintings are hung today in Germany's leading museums, including the National Gallery Berlin, Breslau Museum and the Brunn Museum. His son, Karl Mucke, was also a recognized genre painter. Heinrich Mucke was a professor at the Düsseldorf Academy and received the Portuguese Medal for Art and Sciences as well as the Breslau Medal.

Early life and travels

Karl Anton Heinrich Mucke was born in Breslau, Poland in the spring of 1806. He received formal training in art at both the Berlin Academy and the Düsseldorf Academy. Mucke worked under the well established painter Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow. Travel was an important element of life to Mucke, Italy being his first extended foreign sojourn over the winter of 1834-35. Later, in the year 1950 he visited England, while he vacationed in Switzerland many times. From earliest predilections, he chose historical religioous subjects, especially those containing dramatic or exalted themes.

Liturgical Paintings

Biblical topics were the first for which Mucke was well known. In the core of his early painting career he completed such works as: "Saint Catherine carried by Angels to Mount Sinai (1836)"; "Saint Ambrose and Emperor Theodosius" (1838); "Saint Elizabeth taking Farewell of her Husband" (1841}; "Saint Elizabeth Giving Alms" (1841), the last of which pieces is hung in the National Gallery Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie. Further liturgical oils ot the late 1840s,early 1850s and undated works are: "Coronation of the Virgin" (1847}; "Saint Adelbert" (1851); "Cycle of Life of Saint Meinrad"; "Good Shepherd"; and "Christ Crucified] ".

Paintings of noble life, genre scenes and portraiture

Heinrich Mucke attacked other subject matter, especially while in his early forties. He enjoyed portraying famous historic people in foreign lands, such as "Dante in Verona" (1846) and "Cleopatra Dying" (1873). The well known "Male Portrait" (1861) hangs in the Dusseldorf Museum. Finally to note his genre work, one can turn to his painting "Mother and Child" (ca. 1850).

The frescoes

Not content to confine liturgical art to the canvas, Mucke relished the creation of expansive frescoes in some of the superb old structures in Germany. The earliest well known example is a series of many large images produced over a nine year period at Castle Heltorf near Düsseldorf: "Scenes from life of Barbarossa" (1829-1938). In general Mucke's frescoes comprised early compositions, although these works were clearly interleaved in time with his litergical oil paintings.

Karl Mucke, Heinrich's son

Karl Mucke was born in 1847 and surely studied under his father. Karl is a listed painter in his own right, although not as renowned as his father. Karl specialized in genre painting and is recognized for such works as "Little Brother", "Sunday Afternoon", "Mother's Joy", "Paternal Joys" and "Mending Nets on the Coast of Holland". Karl died on May 27, 1923.

Permanent collections

* Breslau Museum
* Brunn Museum
* Chemnitz Museum
* Düsseldorf Museum
* National Gallery Berlin

Bibliography

* "Cyclopedia of Painters", Vol. 3, ed. by John Denison Champlin, Empire State Book Co. (1927)
* E. Benezit, "Dictionaire de Peinteurs, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs", 1st ed. 1911, revised 1976
* Michael Bryan, "Bryans Dictionary of Painters", C. Bell and Sons, London (1927)
* Wiegmann, p118