Christian Griepenkerl
Encyclopedia
Christian Griepenkerl was a German painter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
.
Griepenkerl was born to one of Oldenburg's leading families. As a young man, he heeded the advice of his fellow countryman, the landscapist Ernst Willers, and went to Vienna in late 1855 in order to enroll at the private art school for monumental paintings founded four years earlier by Carl Rahl
. Rahl allowed several of his students to participate in drafting and carrying out his paintings and thereby shaped their individual artistic development. Griepenkerl's first painting — Œdipus, Led by Antigone
— received Rahl's approval, and he therefore was involved with Rahl and other students in painting fresco
s in the grand staircase of the Museum of Weapons (today's Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
), in the Palais Todesco
, and in the city palace of Simon Sinas
. After Rahl's death in 1865, he individually continued and completed the master's unfinished commissions.
In 1874 Griepenkerl was appointed a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where starting in 1877 he headed a special school for historical painting. His specialty was the allegorical representation using themes from classical mythology and portraiture. Griepenkerl thereby taught an entire generation of Viennese painters. Among his most famous students are Carl Moll
(1880-81), Alfred Roller, Max Kurzweil
, Carl Otto Czeschka (1894-99), Richard Gerstl
(1898-99), Egon Schiele
(1906-08), and Anton Faistauer (1906-09). His "antiquated views" led to repeated protests on the part of his students and later even to withdrawals, leading among things to the founding of the New Art Group.
Griepenkerl also became famous posthumously for having rejected Adolf Hitler
's application to train at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. In 1907, when Hitler was provisionally admitted to prepare a sample drawing, Griepenkerl disapprovingly noted, "Sample drawing unsatisfactory. Too few heads." And in 1908, his verdict was even clearer: "Not admitted."
in the new municipal opera house
. They worked for four years on the ceiling of the auditorium and on the drop curtain of the tragical opera. It was only after the death of Rahl in 1865 that Griepenkerl took on his own monumental assignments. The architect
Hansen
employed him to decorate the Palace Ephrussi and Palace Epstein, Franz Klein hired Griepenkerl for the castle of Hornstein
and for the palace of Sina in Venice
. There he made the ceiling fresco Poseidon
's Wedding Procession, Demons of the Storm, and Protective Ghosts of the Sea, which are of noble form and very graceful, but have some insufficiencies concerning the clothing and the illumination. Of the same importance are the wall paintings in the mansion of the grand duchess
of Tuscany in Gmunden
and his painting The Wedding of Aphrodite
and Adonis
in the dining hall of the Mansion Simon near Hietzing
.
Griepenkerl also made the decorative oil paintings (finished in 1878) in the stairway hall of the Augusteum in Oldenburg
, on the ceiling depicting the Venus Urania as the ideal of all beauty, surrounded by four themes from the myth of Prometheus
; and on three walls (similar to the hémicycle of Paul Delaroche) is depicted an ideal gathering of the all-time heroes of art in historical sequence.
It was followed by a cycle of paintings — once again employing themes from the Prometheus myth — that are distinguished by a great concept of forms and a swinging composition, in the conference hall of the new Academy of Sciences
in Athens
.
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is an institution of higher education in Vienna, Austria.- History :The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy by the court-painter Peter Strudl, who became the Praefectus Academiae Nostrae. In 1701 he was ennobled as Baron of the Empire...
.
Griepenkerl was born to one of Oldenburg's leading families. As a young man, he heeded the advice of his fellow countryman, the landscapist Ernst Willers, and went to Vienna in late 1855 in order to enroll at the private art school for monumental paintings founded four years earlier by Carl Rahl
Carl Rahl
Carl Rahl, sometimes spelled Karl Rahl , was an Austrian painter.Rahl was born in Vienna to Carl Heinrich Rahl , an engraver. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and won a prize at the age of 19. From there he traveled to Munich, Stuttgart, Hungary, and in 1836 to Italy...
. Rahl allowed several of his students to participate in drafting and carrying out his paintings and thereby shaped their individual artistic development. Griepenkerl's first painting — Œdipus, Led by Antigone
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
— received Rahl's approval, and he therefore was involved with Rahl and other students in painting fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s in the grand staircase of the Museum of Weapons (today's Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
The Heeresgeschichtliches Museum is a military history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It claims to be the oldest and largest purpose-built military history museum in the world...
), in the Palais Todesco
Palais Todesco
Palais Todesco is a Ringstraßenpalais in Vienna, Austria. It was built for the aristocratic Todesco family. One of the inhabitants was Baroness Sophie von Todesco, who established a renowned salon for artists and intellectuals....
, and in the city palace of Simon Sinas
Simon Sinas
- Biography :Simon Sinas was born in 1810 in Vienna. He was of Greek origin, while his family originated from Moscopole. He served as Greek Consul in Vienna, and later as Minister to Austria, the Kingdom of Bavaria, and Germany. The son of Georgios Sinas, also a benefactor and diplomat, Sinas...
. After Rahl's death in 1865, he individually continued and completed the master's unfinished commissions.
In 1874 Griepenkerl was appointed a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where starting in 1877 he headed a special school for historical painting. His specialty was the allegorical representation using themes from classical mythology and portraiture. Griepenkerl thereby taught an entire generation of Viennese painters. Among his most famous students are Carl Moll
Carl Moll
Carl Julius Rudolf Moll was a prominent art nouveau painter active in Vienna at the start of the 20th century. He was also the stepfather of Alma Mahler-Werfel .- Biography :...
(1880-81), Alfred Roller, Max Kurzweil
Max Kurzweil
Maximilian Franz Viktor Zdenko Marie Kurzweil was an Austrian painter and printmaker. He moved near Vienna in 1879....
, Carl Otto Czeschka (1894-99), Richard Gerstl
Richard Gerstl
Richard Gerstl was an Austrian painter and draughtsman known for his expressive psychologically insightful portraits, his lack of critical acclaim during his lifetime, and his affair with the wife of Arnold Schoenberg which led to his suicide.Richard Gerstl was born in a prosperous civil family,...
(1898-99), Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced...
(1906-08), and Anton Faistauer (1906-09). His "antiquated views" led to repeated protests on the part of his students and later even to withdrawals, leading among things to the founding of the New Art Group.
Griepenkerl also became famous posthumously for having rejected Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's application to train at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. In 1907, when Hitler was provisionally admitted to prepare a sample drawing, Griepenkerl disapprovingly noted, "Sample drawing unsatisfactory. Too few heads." And in 1908, his verdict was even clearer: "Not admitted."
Works
A larger collection are Rahl's compositions which Griepenkerl carried out with the help of Eduard BitterlichEduard Bitterlich
Eduard Bitterlich was born in Galicia where his father had established himself...
in the new municipal opera house
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
. They worked for four years on the ceiling of the auditorium and on the drop curtain of the tragical opera. It was only after the death of Rahl in 1865 that Griepenkerl took on his own monumental assignments. The architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Hansen
Theophil Freiherr von Hansen
Baron Theophil Edvard von Hansen was a Danish architect who later became an Austrian citizen...
employed him to decorate the Palace Ephrussi and Palace Epstein, Franz Klein hired Griepenkerl for the castle of Hornstein
Hornstein, Austria
Hornstein is a town in the district of Eisenstadt-Umgebung in Burgenland in Austria....
and for the palace of Sina in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. There he made the ceiling fresco Poseidon
Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
's Wedding Procession, Demons of the Storm, and Protective Ghosts of the Sea, which are of noble form and very graceful, but have some insufficiencies concerning the clothing and the illumination. Of the same importance are the wall paintings in the mansion of the grand duchess
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
of Tuscany in Gmunden
Gmunden
Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden. It has 13,202 inhabitants . It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of goat, lake, brine, vegetable and pine-cone baths, a hydropathic establishment, inhalation chambers, whey cure, etc...
and his painting The Wedding of Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
and Adonis
Adonis
Adonis , in Greek mythology, the god of beauty and desire, is a figure with Northwest Semitic antecedents, where he is a central figure in various mystery religions. The Greek , Adōnis is a variation of the Semitic word Adonai, "lord", which is also one of the names used to refer to God in the Old...
in the dining hall of the Mansion Simon near Hietzing
Hietzing
Hietzing is the 13th municipal District of Vienna . It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling...
.
Griepenkerl also made the decorative oil paintings (finished in 1878) in the stairway hall of the Augusteum in Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
, on the ceiling depicting the Venus Urania as the ideal of all beauty, surrounded by four themes from the myth of Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
; and on three walls (similar to the hémicycle of Paul Delaroche) is depicted an ideal gathering of the all-time heroes of art in historical sequence.
It was followed by a cycle of paintings — once again employing themes from the Prometheus myth — that are distinguished by a great concept of forms and a swinging composition, in the conference hall of the new Academy of Sciences
Academy of Athens (modern)
The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy, and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926, and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.