Johann Sperl (painter)

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Johann Sperl, drawn by Wilhelm Leibl

Johann Sperl (born Johann Spörl ; born November 3, 1840 in Buch , today in Nuremberg ; † July 29, 1914 in Bad Aibling , Upper Bavaria ) was a German painter .

Life

Johann Sperl's birthplace in Buch, 2015
kindergarten
Girl picking flowers
Spring in Kutterling
Gravestone for Wilhelm Leibl and Johann Sperl (painter) on the main cemetery in Würzburg in department 1, field 2, number 29.

Johann Sperl was born in 1840 as the only child of Protestant parents in Buch near Nuremberg. The father came from Erbenreut near Graefenberg , worked in summer as a day laborer for the farmers in the area and in winter as a woodworker in the Reichsforst near Nuremberg . The mother, who was born in Buch, had to contribute to the rather modest maintenance as a domestic help. The family lived in a small house next to a farm. Sperl was born under the official name Spörl.

School years

In 1846 the child was admitted to the elementary school in the nearby Kraftshof , which he graduated in 1854 as the best in class. Through the mediation of the village pastor, Sperl received his first apprenticeship at the general art institute of the Geisler magistrate in Nuremberg, where he worked as a colorist for soldiers' picture sheets, children's books and writings for young people.

In 1856 the father died. From now on Sperl had to support the penniless sick mother. After completing his apprenticeship with Geisler, there was a welcome opportunity to transfer to the von Pacher lithographic institute in Nuremberg. Sperl was trained as a lithographer here .

From the winter semester of 1858/1859 onwards, he was able to fulfill a long-cherished wish by attending drawing courses at the Nuremberg School of Applied Arts. At that time, the institute was headed by the respected, versatile history painter and sculptor August von Kreling . At the arts and crafts school, Sperl met the painters Rudolf Hirth du Frênes and Theodor Alt , who met again at the Academy in Munich in 1865 and who were later to belong to the inner Leibl group. In 1863 Sperl was appointed head of a lithographic institute in Arnstadt in Thuringia .

Academy time

In the spring of 1865 Sperl gave up this activity after he had finally acquired the necessary funds to attend the academy in Munich. The young Sperl could rightly be proud of himself that he passed this test of talent and was accepted into the painting class of the history painter Hermann Anschütz in October 1865 . In 1865 he met Wilhelm Leibl for the first time , with whom he had a lifelong friendship.

The high point and the conclusion of the apprenticeship at the academy was the famous master class of Karl Theodor von Pilotys , who was known as a painter of large-format historical pictures far beyond the borders of Munich. His advanced students included: Hans Makart , Franz von Lenbach , Eduard Grützner , Franz von Defregger , Gabriel Max and others

Studied with Ramberg

In the spring of 1866 Arthur von Ramberg was called from Weimar to Munich and took over the master class there. Sperl, who had found a very warm relationship with Ramberg, initially remained his pupil and only left the academy after his death in early 1875.

Despite his membership in the Leibl group, training at Ramberg had absolute priority, especially since Sperl had matured artistically in the early seventies to such an extent that he could now tackle more demanding compositions. From around 1875 on, Sperl switched from the previous large, multi-figure image formats to smaller compositions.

In 1878 he moved with Wilhelm Leibl to Berbling , in December 1878 Max Liebermann arrived in Munich from Venice . Sperl probably met Liebermann sometime during 1879 through Leibl. At the beginning of the eighties, Sperl began to deal more and more with landscape painting .

Last years of life

At the end of 1882 Sperl moved to Kraiburg am Inn, which friends had recommended to him because of its beautiful location. In 1883 Sperl moved with Wilhelm Leibl into his newly built studio in Bad Aibling . In May 1899 Sperl made a trip to Italy , he was in Florence , Siena and Venice . The trip to the south could not give him any new impulses. On May 24, 1910, a hot spring day, Sperl, who had been completely absorbed in his painting until then, collapsed at the age of almost seventy in front of the easel in the middle of a flowering meadow above Kutterlings . He had suffered a stroke that resulted in partial paralysis of the right side of his body. Johann Sperl died on July 23, 1914, a few days before the outbreak of the First World War. His last wish was fulfilled: he was buried in the main cemetery in Würzburg next to his friend Wilhelm Leibl in the 1st department, 50 meters south of the funeral hall.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b see discussion page
  2. ↑ Willi Dürr Nagel: Wilhelm Leibl. In: Würzburger Anzeiger, September 2012, pp. 1–3

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Sperl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Sperl, Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spörl, Johann (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Book , today in Nuremberg
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1914
Place of death Bad Aibling , Upper Bavaria