August Friedrich Schenck

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August Friedrich Schenck

August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck (born April 23, 1828 in Glückstadt ; † January 1, 1901 in Écouen ) was a German painter who found worldwide attention in the mid-19th century with his animal motifs.

Life

As a young man, Schenck left Glückstadt, which was then Danish, in order to earn a profitable income as a “wine traveler” in Germany, Russia and finally Portugal. After five years he left Portugal for Paris . There he trained as a painter. He became a student of Léon Cogniet (1794-1880), professor at the École des Beaux-Arts .

At the age of 27 he made his debut as a painter at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1855. In 1857 he participated in the Schleswig-Holstein anniversary exhibition. A successful creative period began. He was particularly famous for his pictures of animals. In addition to the French painter Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899), he was the most sought-after animal painter whose works were collected internationally.

Around 1862 he and his wife, who was born in Warsaw, Ludowika Stapaczinska, settled in the artist town of Écouen, about 20 km north of Paris. The École d'Écouen attracted well-known artists, including Charles-François Daubigny , Camille Corot and Mary Cassatt . Schenck still leaves traces in Écouen today: the street Rue de la Beauvette , on which his property was located, was renamed Rue Auguste Schenck in 1906 . His painting L'Échir hangs in the town hall and his Lamb of God - Agnus dei , in the church .

Schenck was world famous during his lifetime. Major museums acquired his works. Honors followed. In 1885 he even became a Knight of the Legion of Honor . August Schenck died on January 1, 1901. His grave in Écouen still exists, house and studio no longer.

plant

Angoisses (1876/78), National Gallery of Victoria , Melbourne

Influenced by his teacher Cogniet, Schenck began with history and genre painting. Then he specialized in animal painting. He became famous for his sheep. Le Paris sees him as the “greatest sheep painter of our time” (quoted from L'École d'Écouen ). Purchased and collected at high prices in its heyday, Schenck's work is almost forgotten today. If a painting is offered in an auction, it is moderately priced. A curiosity is Salvador Dalí's alienation of Schenck's motif L'Échir in a surrealistic interior .

Museums

The artist encyclopedias Bénézit and Thieme-Becker list: Paris, Lille, Périgueux, Reims, Bordeaux, Melbourne, Sheffield, New York, St. Louis, Riga and Bremen.

Further:

literature

Web links

Commons : August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Schenck, August Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schenck, August Friedrich Albrecht
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH Glückstadt
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1901
Place of death Écouen