hans von marees – ultrawolvesunderthefullmoon

Hans von Marées, “Dre Jünglinge unter Orangenbäumen (Three Young Men under Orange Trees”, 1873-1875, Mixed Media on Panel, 187.5 x 145 cm, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, Germany

Born in 1837 in Elberfeld, Prussia to a wealthy banking family, Hans Von Marées studied at the Berlin Academy from 1853 to 1855. During 1854, he also studied at the studio of painter and printmaker Carl Steffeck. Marées worked in Munich for eight years, where he became influenced by the historical school of painting. In 1864 literary historian and poet Count Adolf von Schack sent Steffeck and Marées to Italy for further studies by copying the old masters.

While living in Italy from 1864 to 1870, Marées became a friend of art theorist Konrad Fiedler, who later became his patron, and the sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand, who would design the architectural setting for Marées’s murals at the zoological museum. After his extended stay in Italy, Marées decided to settle in Italy permanently in 1873.

Residing in Naples in 1873, Hans Von Marées received his most important commission: the painting of the frescoes in the library of the newly built Stazione Zoologica, the zoological museum in Naples. Influenced by his exposure to Italian Renaissance art, his frescoes consisted of five scenes depicting figures in landscapes, intended to express the joys of sea and beach life.

After completing the frescoes, Von Marées moved to Florence, where he became acquainted with classical painter Anselm Feuerbach and the Swiss symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin, two leading members of the idealistic art group known as the “German Romans”. Von Marées shared the aesthetic views of philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand and German art theorist Adolph Konrad Fleder, which prompted him to embody the dream of the golden age of humanity in allegorical images, and to invest his works with expressive, creative elements

Von Marées initially specialized in portraiture but later turned to painting mythological subjects. He developed a complex and individualistic technique of overpainting tempera with layers of oil, creating a depth of color quite unlike the muted tones of his fellow artist Anselm Feuerbach.

During the 1880s, Marées painted four triptychs of importance: “The Judgement of Paris”, “The Hesperides”, “The Wooing”, and “Three Saints on Horseback”. The two triptych on mythological themes, “The Judgement of Paris” and “The Hesperides”, are marked by clearly arranged masses, rhythmical forms, and rather bright colors. Their two-dimensional and linear compositions anticipated the form of the art nouveau movement.

Hans Von Marées spent his last years of his life in Rome, supported by his patron, art theorist Konrad Fiedler. Although ambitious, he lacked self-confidence and, in the later part of his life, ceased to exhibit his work. Marées died in Rome at the age of 49 in June of 1887. He was buried in the Protestant Cemetery of Rome in the Rione of Testaccio. A retrospective of his work was shown at the Munich Exhibition in 1891, where his paintings were highly acclaimed.

Hans Von Marées, “The Orange Grove”, 1873, Fresco, Stazione Zoologica, Naples, Italy

Born in 1837 in Elberfeld, Prussia, Hans Von Marées studied at the Berlin Academy from 1853 to 1855. In 1854, he also entered the studio of painter and printmaker Car Steffeck. Marées moved to Munich where he worked for eight years, influenced by the historical school of painting. He then traveled to italy in 1864 where he lived for twenty years. In 1873 he received his most important commission, the painting of the frescoes in the library of the newly built Stazione Zoologica, the zoological museum in Naples. The frescoes consisted of landscape scenes with figures, intended to express the joys of sea and beach life. “The Orange Grove” is a fresco from that series.

Hans Von Marées initially specialized in portraiture but later turned to painting mythological subjects. He developed an individualistic technique of overpainting tempera with layers of oil, creating a depth of color quite unlike the muted tones of his fellow artists. During the 1880s, Marées painted four triptychs of importance: “The Judgement of Paris”, “The Hesperides”, “The Wooing”, and “Three Saints on Horseback”. He spent his last years of his life in Rome, supported by his patron, art theorist Konrad Fiedler. Marées died at the age of 49 and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery of Rome in the rione of Testaccio.

In 1935, Hans Von Marées’s painting “Die Labung,(The Refresment)” was stolen by the Nazi regime,. In 1980 the painting came into the possession of the Museum Wiesbaden, the museum of art and natural history in Wiesbaden, Germany. In order to fulfill the museum’s project of identifying and returning Nazi-plundered artwork, the museum showed only the back side of the painting until it could gather enough donations to purchase the work.

Insert Image: Hans von Marées, “Doppelbildnis Marées und (Franz) Lenbach”, 1863, Oil on Canvas, 54.3 x 62 cm, Schack Collection, Munich, Germany