Wilhelm Busch
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Busch was an influential German
caricaturist, painter
, and poet
who is famed for his satirical picture stories with rhymed texts.
After initially studying mechanical engineering
and then art
in Düsseldorf
, Antwerp, and Munich
, he turned to drawing caricature
s. One of his first picture stories, Max and Moritz
(published in 1865), was an immediate success and has achieved the status of a popular classic and perennial bestseller.
Max and Moritz as well as many of his other picture stories are regarded as one of the main precursors of the modern comic strip
. Max and Moritz, for instance, was an inspiration for the Katzenjammer Kids
. Being an early pioneer next to Rodolphe Töpffer
in the art of combining words and pictures to tell often humorous stories in sequential panels, throughout the latter half of the 20th century Busch has become posthumously known in German by the honorary epithet of Großvater der Comics ("Grandfather of Comics").
Wilhelm Busch also wrote a number of poems in a similar style to his picture stories. Besides that he produced more than 1,000 oil painting
s that remained unsold up to his death in 1908. He was also active as a sculptor.
Many couplets from Busch's humorous verses have achieved the status of adage
s in the German language, such as "Vater werden ist nicht schwer, Vater sein dagegen sehr" ("It's easy to become a father, but being one is harder rather") or "Dieses war der erste Streich, doch der zweite folgt sogleich" ("This was the first initial trick, but then the second follows quick"). Only Goethe and Schiller are quoted more frequently in German than Busch.
(with the year of publication)
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
caricaturist, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
who is famed for his satirical picture stories with rhymed texts.
After initially studying mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
and then art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Antwerp, and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, he turned to drawing caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s. One of his first picture stories, Max and Moritz
Max and Moritz
Max and Moritz is a German language illustrated story in verse. This highly inventive, blackly humorous tale, told entirely in rhymed couplets, was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 1865...
(published in 1865), was an immediate success and has achieved the status of a popular classic and perennial bestseller.
Max and Moritz as well as many of his other picture stories are regarded as one of the main precursors of the modern comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
. Max and Moritz, for instance, was an inspiration for the Katzenjammer Kids
Katzenjammer Kids
The Katzenjammer Kids is an American comic strip created by the German immigrant Rudolph Dirks and drawn by Harold H. Knerr for 37 years...
. Being an early pioneer next to Rodolphe Töpffer
Rodolphe Töpffer
Rodolphe Töpffer was a Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricature artist. He is also considered to be the first modern comic creator.- Biography :...
in the art of combining words and pictures to tell often humorous stories in sequential panels, throughout the latter half of the 20th century Busch has become posthumously known in German by the honorary epithet of Großvater der Comics ("Grandfather of Comics").
Wilhelm Busch also wrote a number of poems in a similar style to his picture stories. Besides that he produced more than 1,000 oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
s that remained unsold up to his death in 1908. He was also active as a sculptor.
Many couplets from Busch's humorous verses have achieved the status of adage
Adage
An adage is a short but memorable saying which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or that has gained some credibility through its long use....
s in the German language, such as "Vater werden ist nicht schwer, Vater sein dagegen sehr" ("It's easy to become a father, but being one is harder rather") or "Dieses war der erste Streich, doch der zweite folgt sogleich" ("This was the first initial trick, but then the second follows quick"). Only Goethe and Schiller are quoted more frequently in German than Busch.
Works
- 1859 Die kleinen Honigdiebe
- 1864 Bilderpossen
- 1865 Max and MoritzMax and MoritzMax and Moritz is a German language illustrated story in verse. This highly inventive, blackly humorous tale, told entirely in rhymed couplets, was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 1865...
- 1866 Schnaken und Schnurren
- 1867 Hans Huckebein, der Unglücksrabe
- 1868 Schnaken und Schnurren, part II
- 1869 Schnurrdiburr oder die Bienen Braun
- 1870 Der heilige Antonius von PaduaAnthony of PaduaAnthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
- 1872 Schnaken und Schnurren, part III
- 1872 Die fromme Helene
- 1872 Bilder zur Jobsiade
- 1872 Pater Filuzius
- 1873 Der Geburtstag oder die Partikularisten
- 1874 Dideldum!
- 1874 Kritik des Herzens
- 1875 Abenteuer eines Junggesellen
- 1876 Herr und Frau Knopp
- 1877 Julchen
- 1878 Die Haarbeutel
- 1879 Fipps, der Affe
- 1881 Stippstörchen für Äuglein und Öhrchen
- 1881 Der Fuchs. Die Drachen. - Zwei lustige Sachen
- 1882 Plisch und Plum
- 1883 Balduin Bählamm, der verhinderte Dichter
- 1884 Maler Klecksel
- 1891 Eduards Traum
- 1893 Von mir über mich (autobiography)
- 1895 Der Schmetterling
- 1904 Zu guter Letzt
- 1908 Hernach
- 1909 Schein und Sein
- 1910 Ut ôler Welt (legends)
Museums
- The Wilhelm-Busch house museum, Mechtshausen, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
is located in a former rectory, and it served as his residence during the last years of life (1898–1908).
- The Wilhelm-Busch-Mill in EbergötzenEbergötzenEbergötzen is a village in the District of Göttingen in Germany in Lower Saxony. It is 15 km from Göttingen and belongs to the Samtgemeinde Radolfshausen...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
is located in the village where he lived in from 1841 to 1845. His life there and friendship with the millers son, Erich Bachmann, may have been part of the inspiration for the "Max and Moritz" story
- The Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hannover, is also "Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und kritische Grafik", featuring besides Busch's works a wider collection of satiric graphics, including "Four Hundred Years of Caricature" with an active lecture schedule.
Further reading
- Wolfgang Kayser (1958) Wilhelm Buschs grotesker Humor (Vortragsreihe der Niedersächsischen Landesregierung, Heft 4; hier online einsehbar: http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0004/bsb00047459/images/)