Hermann Knackfuß

Hermann Knackfuß studied at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Training under Eduard Bendemann, Julius Roeting and Eduard von Gebhardt is recorded. The recorded working language is German. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Works named in the authority record are Peoples of Europe, guard your dearest goods. Work by Hermann Knackfuß is recorded in the collections of Alte Nationalgalerie and Livadia Palace.

Hermann Knackfuss was born in Wissen, Rhenish Prussia. He studied at the Düsseldorf Academy between 1869 and 1874, where he was a student of Eduard Bendemann, Julius Roeting, and Eduard von Gebhardt. In 1870, he interrupted his studies to serve as a volunteer in the Franco-Prussian War. His illustrations of the war's progress during his service would appear in the magazine Die Gartenlaube. While studying at Düsseldorf, he won the state prize in 1874, which paid for his studies at Rome from 1875 to 1878. In 1880, Knackfuss was appointed to the Cassel Academy. Initially, he taught anatomy, but from 1890 onwards he also taught history of art (1890). • Illustration — Knackfuss's painting of the Battle of Mühldorf Knackfuss primarily created historical paintings, many of which depicted events in the history of Prussia. Many of these were created for public buildings. For example, he made frescoes for the entrance hall of the Strasbourg train station. Early in his career, his paintings were characterized by a sometimes pedantic-looking realism that focused on small details such as the historical accuracy of the costumes. From around 1890, his historical works developed a more impressionist style. In addition to his historical works, Knackfuss was also a sought-after portraitist of the Prussian nobility. • Illustration — Völker Europas, wahrt eure heiligsten Güter ("Peoples of Europe, Guard your Dearest Goods," 1895) In 1895, the German emperor Wilhelm II commissioned Knackfuss to create allegorical works on behalf of the emperor. One commission was People of Europe, Guard Your Dearest Goods, based on a rough sketch by Wilhelm that highlighted his fear of the yellow peril after the end of the First Sino-Japanese War. This particular political illustration was sent to Europe's political leaders, including Nicholas II of Russia, and it was mass-distributed through the Leipziger illustrirte Zeitung. It has become Knackfuss's most famous work. Knackfuss also traveled extensively to Greece, Spain, Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt, and accompanied Emperor Wilhelm II to Palestine in 1898. Knackfuss died of typhus in 1915 during World War I while serving as a guard at the Niederzwehren POW camp in Kassel.

Knackfuss's paintings include: • Battle of Mühldorf (originally belonging to Wilhelm II) • Battle of Turin, in Berlin Zeughaus • Mural decorations for the officers' casino of the Potsdam Treppenhaus • Entry of the Kaiser and Kaiserin into Jerusalem (1902) • Holy Family altar picture in the Fulda Cathedral (1893) • Mural decorations in the Wohlau (Silesia) gymnasium His writings include: • Deutsche Kunstgeschichte (“German art history,” 1888) • Articles on Raphael, Rembrandt Rubens, Michelangelo, Dürer, Murillo, Holbein, Titian, Velazquez, Frans Hall, van Dyck, Menzel, Teniers and others, for the serial Kunstler-monographien (“Artist monographs”) published by Velhagen & Klasing.

Hermann Knackfuß was recorded at birth as Hermann Joseph Wilhelm Knackfuß. The authorities additionally record the headings Hermann Joseph Wilhelm Knackfuß, Hermann Joseph Wilhelm Knackfuss, Hermann Knackfuss, H. His recorded language was German.

Hermann Knackfuß is recorded as painter, art historian, writer, university teacher and artist. Formation and teaching. Knackfuß studied at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. He trained under Eduard Bendemann, Julius Roeting and Eduard von Gebhardt.