Friedrich Brandseph

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friedrich Brandseph: Self-Portrait (colored pencil drawing, 1851)
Friedrich Brandseph: Unknown student (silhouette, ink drawing, April 1, 1848)
Floor plan, front and side views of the house at Marienstraße 36 for the renovation work from 1859
Advertisement from the "Swabian Chronicle" of February 10, 1860, which announces the move to Marienstraße 36
Invoice to "Fürst Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Kupferzell" for 24 copies V. Cards = Carte de visites for 6 fl
Friedrich Brandseph hands Friedrich Brandseph Feuer, a double trick shot from around 1868, if you look closely you can see the connection between two photos in the middle of the picture, the intersection of which has been retouched with smoke

Friedrich Brandseph (born as Georg Friedrich Brandsef , officially since 1863 Georg Friedrich Brandseph , * 2. May 1826 in Obertürkheim ; † 24. November 1915 in Know castle in Esslingen am Neckar ) was a German Silhouetteur , painter , lithographer and from 1854 Photographer . In the second half of the 19th century his photo studio was the largest and most successful in Stuttgart and was known far beyond Württemberg ; Brandseph temporarily employed 25 to 40 people there. He was the father of the photographer Hermann Brandseph .

Life

youth

Friedrich Brandseph was an illegitimate child of Friederike Brandsef and the cloth maker Anton Schneider. His parents did not get married until 1846, which is why Brandseph kept his mother's maiden name. Brandseph began his apprenticeship in lithography in Esslingen or Stuttgart in 1840. After the end, probably in 1844, he undertook the usual multi-year hike. During this time he dealt with drawing and painting "different objects". It is likely that he was in Paris and met Louis Daguerre during this time . It is certain that he was already involved with the daguerreotype at this time, but was not particularly fond of it, presumably because of the technical difficulties.

Brandseph settled down in Stuttgart, at "Marktplatz" 5, as a silhouetteur and painter by 1849 at the latest. He also maintained contact with the daguerreotypist Carl Reutlinger , who was in Stuttgart at the time, and probably also knew the two Stuttgart daguerreotypists Israel Käser and Carl Dihm . Brandseph only began to focus more intensively on photography in 1852, when the daguerreotype was replaced by the technically simpler wet collodion process .

For an unknown reason he traveled via Leipzig to Hamburg in January 1853 , where he arrived on February 5, 1853, stayed in the "White Swan" under the name of his father and tried to settle down as a silhouetteur. From Hamburg he traveled back to Stuttgart on March 16, 1853, again via Leipzig - before the expiry of the residence permit issued until April 6, 1853, so it was as surprising as he had gone there.

Marriage, beginning of professional photography

Brandseph married Karoline Louise Richter on August 16, 1853. In 1857 she gave birth to her son Hermann . Gustav Brandseph followed in 1860, who later also worked in the photo industry, albeit more as a manager and not as a photographer.

It was only after this time - apparently in order to secure better earnings in the long term - that Friedrich Brandseph finally turned to photography. He first referred to himself as a “photographer” in an advertisement dated July 9, 1854. To get to know the latest developments in photography, he traveled - probably in 1855 - to Paris and probably also to Munich .

Since November 16, 1855, Brandseph has been running a new, larger studio especially for photography in Stuttgart at "Tübinger Strasse" 2A. At that time it was the largest and most modern photo studio in Stuttgart. His first surviving photos date from the time of this studio; the oldest is the portrait of the missionary Jakob August Hausmeister (1806–1860) from 1858.

Brandseph was soon hiring staff - retouchers and photographers - whom he paid well above average. He was one of the first photographers to successfully train apprentices. His first apprentice was Friedrich Bopp , who was awarded the first prize at the apprenticeship exhibition and later became a successful photographer in Austria. Paul Sinner, who later became successful in Tübingen, was one of his early apprentices .

Marienstrasse 36

In 1859 Friedrich Brandseph acquired the house at "Marienstraße" 36. Brandseph had it converted accordingly, especially the rear building, on which a large glass studio - in which groups of up to 80 people could be photographed - was placed. After Brandseph's move, the new studio was opened on February 10, 1860. In the more than fifty years of its existence, this studio has developed into the leading address in its branch in Württemberg . Brandseph quickly set itself apart from its Stuttgart competitors. In 1865, his trade tax rate (215 fl 18 kr ) was by far the largest of all Stuttgart photographers. As early as the end of October 1861, Friedrich Brandseph submitted an application for approval for a further studio, which should be adjacent to the existing one at a right angle. For this purpose, a wooden stable was demolished and a massive building was erected on which a second glass studio was built, which was opened in February 1864. Thanks to the second studio, not only could larger numbers of customers be served, but full-length portraits could also be made in significantly better quality.

The photo studio developed into a company whose activities were quickly expanded to include a picture publisher. The publisher sold portraits of well-known people as well as art reproductions through bookshops throughout Württemberg. Brandseph was the largest company of its kind in Württemberg, but rather insignificant in comparison with internationally operating companies such as Franz Hanfstaengl from Munich.

The number of his employees increased to 25–40 in the following years. In addition to photographers, there were painters who mostly worked as retouchers , laboratory assistants and office workers. Some of them also became known through later self-employment, such as Louise Dihm and Hermann Roth (1847–1909). His employed photographers, who also became known elsewhere, included: Robert Riedinger (1827–1867), Leonard Markus Meckes (1822–1914), Gottlieb Kaiser, Carl Friedrich Fischer (1827–1875), Julius Gustav Schönnagel (1841–1903) , Christoph Friedrich Fink (1842–1877), Gebhard Giesinger and Josef Georg Giesinger (1842–?). In the years 1867-68 Brandseph had an associate named Carl Binder.

Although never directly active in Tübingen , Brandseph was a serious competitor for the Tübingen photographers. Brandseph had already had background brochures with Tübingen motifs (see the portrait of Mathilde Weber ) and produced a large number of portraits of people living in Tübingen since the end of the 1850s - in order to satisfy the wishes of Tübingen customers . The “Photographic Portraits of the University Teachers” in the album L XV 60.fol in the Tübingen University Library come almost exclusively from Brandseph. The publishing company has also been offering photos of well-known people (including a photo of Ludwig Uhland ) for sale through Tübingen bookstores since the beginning of the 1860s , above all through the Osiander bookstore .

In addition to portrait photography, Friedrich Brandseph dealt with architectural photography, but he did not attach great importance to this branch because it could not be used commercially. In 1867, for example, he submitted only one architectural photo out of 11 for the “General Paris Exhibition”: Stuttgart's Schloßplatz in 1864 . Recordings from this series are almost the oldest of his surviving architectural recordings. Most of his portraits were also exhibited at the state trade exhibition for the opening of the State Trade Museum in Stuttgart in 1881. However, his architectural recordings were distributed in loose leaf albums. An album Views of Stuttgart and the Surrounding Area from 1870 with his recordings was sold by Adolf Schlegel in the Königsbau. A portfolio was also created with his pictures, which Egle put together primarily for documentation purposes: Photographic views of public buildings, houses and villas in Stuttgart and the surrounding area (1876).

The late years

In 1870 Brandseph divorced his first wife and in 1871 he married Elisabeth Schuler. Brandseph knew how to seize the opportunity: at the end of April 1871 his "artistically arranged tableaux" were offered, whereupon "all of the Württemberg officers who died in the last campaign " were put together, which "made the deepest impression on the beholder".

His studio was continuously enlarged and modernized. On November 4, 1871, Brandseph applied to raise the main building by one floor and cover it with a platform, which was approved. After this major renovation, a covered corridor was built between the front and rear buildings in October 1873. In order to be able to make large enlargements, Brandseph acquired a powerful solar magnifier. A new darkroom had to be built for this, the construction of which was approved in May 1874.

From October 1, 1874 to June 8, 1875 Brandseph ceded his business to the businessman Rudolf Keller. During this time the atelier operated under “F. Brandseph Photogr. Institution R. Keller Stuttgart Marienstraße 36 ". At this time Brandseph was abroad - at least temporarily - as evidenced by the visit format recordings he made in England . From February 23, 1876 to September 1, 1877 Brandseph was a member of the artistic association "Bergwerk", whose focus, however, was more on socializing. In 1880 Friedrich Brandseph was appointed "court photographer".

In 1883/84 Friedrich Brandseph handed the business over to his son Hermann, who ran it until his untimely death in 1907. The father, who survived the son, had not worked as a photographer since the business was handed over and lived in Kennenburg near Esslingen. The studio was taken over by Paul Mutzig in 1907 and continued under the name of “Hofphotograph Hermann Brandseph Successor”.

Works (selection)

  • Hospitalstrasse synagogue ( albumen paper , 1861)

  • Stuttgart Schloßplatz (album paper, 1864)

  • Schloßstraße station in Stuttgart, facade (albumen paper, around 1870)

  • Cannstatt from Wilhelma (album paper, around 1870)

  • Villa Berg , east facade with nymph fountain by Albert Güldenstein (albumen paper, 1870)

Panorama of Cannstatt (album paper, around 1869)

References and comments

  1. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 123
  2. ^ A b Fritz Kempe: Daguerreotype in Germany , p. 232
  3. ↑ Entry in the Stuttgart address book from 1850. - An advertisement in the “Schwäbische Chronik” of April 19, 1849, in which a seller offered a complete daguerreotype machine at this address, speaks for both.
  4. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839-1900… , p. 124
  5. ↑ Jean-Pierre Bourgeron: Les Reutlinger. Photographes à Paris 1850-1937 , p. 17
  6. ↑ This is how he saw it himself, as a note made for Prof. August Wintterlin in 1874 tells us. It may come as a surprise, however, that he was looking for a daguerreotype machine with the advertisement in the "Swabian Chronicle" of April 15, 1852. (Joachim W. Siener: Die Photography and Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 124)
  7. ↑ A letter from Brandseph dated February 16, 1853 has been received in which he describes his journey and his efforts in Hamburg in detail (reproduced in: Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie und Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 125/6).
  8. ↑ a b c d e Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 126
  9. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839-1900 ... , p. 134
  10. ↑ On this trip a portrait of Brandseph by Adrien Tournachon was created .
  11. ↑ In 1859 he offered a photographer 600 fl plus food per year and in 1862 a laboratory assistant even 1,000–1200 fl.
  12. ↑ a b c Joachim W. Siener: Die Photography and Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 131
  13. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839-1900… , p. 135
  14. ↑ a b c d e f Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 133
  15. ↑ a b c d Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 135
  16. ↑ Wolfgang Hesse: Views from Swabia ... , p. 32
  17. ↑ Louise Dihm was an unmarried daughter of Carl Dihm.
  18. ↑ Wolfgang Hesse: Views from Swabia ... , p. 32. One of the advertisements read z. B. “Portraits of the outstanding members of our Chamber, photographed in business card format by Brandseph, in Stuttgart” (“Tübinger Chronik” of June 6, 1862).
  19. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839-1900… , p. 137
  20. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839-1900 ... , p. 141
  21. ↑ Wolfgang Hesse: Views from Swabia ... , p. 71 after "Schwäbischer Kronik" from April 28, 1871
  22. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839–1900… , p. 121
  23. ↑ Joachim W. Siener: Die Photographie and Stuttgart 1839-1900 ... , p. 134

bibliography

  • Joachim W. Siener: The photography and Stuttgart 1839-1900. From the masked sleigh ride to the court photographer , Cantz edition: Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-89322-150-6
  • Wolfgang Hesse: Views from Swabia. Art, country and people in photos by the first Tübingen photographers and the photographer Paul Sinner (1838–1925) , Metz brothers: Tübingen 1989, ISBN 3-921580-79-X
  • Fritz Kempe : Daguerreotype in Germany. On the charm of early photography , Heering: Seebruck am Chiemsee 1979, ISBN 3-7763-5190-X

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Brandseph  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Brandseph, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brandsef, Georg Friedrich (maiden name); Brandseph, Georg Friedrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German silhouetteur, painter, lithographer and photographer
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1826
PLACE OF BIRTH Obertürkheim
DATE OF DEATH November 24, 1915
Place of death Kennenburg near Esslingen am Neckar