Karl Oenike

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Karl Oenike
River landscape

Karl Oenike (born April 9, 1862 in Berlin ; † April 11, 1924 there ) was a German landscape painter and etcher who took part in various scientific expeditions in South America as a painter and photographer from 1887 to 1891. During these expeditions he wrote detailed diaries, made topographic maps, drawings, sketches, watercolors, oil paintings and photos that gave a valuable perspective on these remote regions and their population groups. He also described the difficulties that German researchers faced there in the 1880s.
“There are very few exotic painters whose work exudes so much 'forest magic'.” - Herman Ten Kate, 1913.

life and work

Karl Oenike was born in Berlin in 1862. He studied from 1879 to 1886 at the Berlin Art Academy under Prof. Eugen Bracht , who was a respected landscape painter of "oriental motifs" at the time.

In 1887 he was invited by Prof. Ludwig Brackebusch to take part in a geographical and geological expedition to survey the Andes. The expedition was to go to the provinces of San Juan and Catamarca in northwest Argentina . He later took part in other expeditions in northeast Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil .

During his stay in Buenos Aires , Argentina, he met Wilhelmine Fehling, whom he married in 1891. When they returned to Germany, they settled in Berlin. They had four daughters, Charlotte, Marie Henriette, Wilhelmine and Gertrud Luise Irmgard.

Entry of the pilgrims into Bethlehem, 1894

After his return, Karl Oenike pursued a career as a landscape painter, especially in Northern Europe. He was commissioned to paint castles and landscapes and to reproduce historical scenes. He took part in various exhibitions. Oenike was a very prolific artist who worked using a variety of techniques such as etching, watercolor, and oil painting. His best-known work is "Entry of the Pilgrims", an etching depicting the entry of pilgrims into the city of Bethlehem around 1894. This work was very popular and has been reproduced in various publications. Most of his work, however, was landscape painting, in which he represented his "personal vision of nature".

But his time in the southern regions of South America "occupies a very important position, yes, a good part of his life's work". He wrote various reports on his travels, some of which can be found in the library of the Society for Geography in Berlin and in the Ibero-American Institute in Berlin. His drawings, engravings and photos have appeared in various works across South America. Oenike was a member of the “ Association of Berlin Artists ”, the “Free Association of Graphic Artists in Berlin” and the “Association of German Illustrators” Berlin.

Karl Oenike died on April 11, 1924 at the relatively young age of 62.

Expeditions

Drawings in publications

  • Ludwig Brackebusch: The Cordilleras between the Argentine Republic and Chile. In: Journal of the Society for Geography. Volume 27, WH Kühl, Berlin 1892 ( digizeitschriften.de ).
  • Ludwig Brackebusch: The miner's life in the Argentine Republic. In: Westermannsmonthshefte . Volume 75, March 1894, pp. 749-771 with 15 drawings by K. Oenike.
  • Karl Oenike: Sketches from Argentina. In: From rock to sea. Spemann's illustrated magazine for the German House. 1896, 14 pages including 20 drawings.
  • Paul Ehrenreich : New messages about the Guayaki (Stone Age people) in Paraguay. In: Globus - Illustrated magazine for country and ethnology. Volume LXXIII, No. 5, pp. 1-6, F. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1898, contains a drawing by K. Oenike ( digi-alt.ub.hu-berlin.de ).
  • Moritz Kronfeld : Picture atlas for plant geography. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig & Vienna 1908, contains drawings by K. Oenike ( archive.org ).
  • Herman Ten Kate : Exotism in art. In: Elserevier Geïllustreerd Maandschrift . Year XXIII, T. XLVI (July to December 1913), Amsterdam ( elseviermaandschrift.nl ).

Works (selection)

A catalog of works does not exist, the following works were at the exhibitions of the Kgl. Akademie der Künste zu Berlin and the great Berlin art exhibitions:

  • 1892 palm clearing in the primeval forest of Paraguay; Tropical night (motif from Brazil); In the Cordillera of Argentina
  • 1893 In the mountains of Cordoba in Argentina; The Baa lake near Freienwalde
  • 1894 Indian sacrificial site, Argentina (photo in catalog) ; The Isar valley near Tölz; Tropical evening in Paraguay
  • 1895 Upper Bavarian Moor near Tölz; Tropical fairy tales; Winter landscape (etching)
  • 1896 tropical forest; Brazilian mountain lake (fig. In the catalog) ; Grossglockner with Pasterze (etching)
  • 1897 The Niederwald; Stolzenfels (etchings)
  • 1898 dusk (photo in catalog) ; Evening rest
  • 1899 The way to the source, Argentina (Fig. In the catalog)
  • 1900 The Haidebach
  • 1901 Stahleck; Friedenskirche with Kaiser Friedrich's mausoleum; On the Moselle (drawings)
  • 1902 loneliness in the forest; Adoration; Five clock afternoon
  • 1903 summer evening; Late autumn; holiday
  • 1905 The desolate church of Fürstlich-Drehna in Niederlausitz
  • 1906 romance; Morning Mood; Late afternoon (etching); Gondorf; Tired; Wildenburg ruins; Cochem; Trarbach; Elz Castle; Ehrenberg ruins (7 watercolors from the Moselle); Architecture studies from the province of Brandenburg
  • 1908 evening mood; Märkische village church
  • 1909 In the jungle of South America (drawing); Bismarck Monument in Hamburg (drawing); Heather; Heathland; At the river
  • 1910 Märkische Landschaft; After sunset, Spreewald; Heath village after sunset (watercolor)
  • 1911 On the dunes (watercolor); Oak trees in late autumn (drawing); At the Habichtswald near Cassel
  • 1912 Im Edertal (tempera); The Hellenwarde near Fritzlar (tempera)
  • 1913 From Hain in the Giant Mountains (oil tempera); On the Mosenberger Moor in the Eifel (oil tempera); Niederwald Monument (etching)
  • 1914 Fir trees in the high moor, Jizera Mountains; High moor in the Jizera Mountains; From Luckau in Niederlausitz (etching); Loneliness (watercolor); Evening at the Eifelmaar (watercolor)
  • 1916 destroyed church in Hattonchateltal; Barrage at Fort Lionville; The Rue des Bains in St. Mihiel (watercolor); From the abandoned Varneville (watercolor)
  • 1924 Schönborn village in Lower Lusatia; The church in Schönborn in Niederlausitz

The other titles were taken from the catalogs of auction houses:

The arrival of the pilgrims; River landscape; Summer lake with lilies and reeds; Botanical Garden - Rio de Janeiro; Landscape with river and people; French river landscape with person; People in the Paraguayan countryside; Old oaks; Bavarian Moor; San Bernardino and Lake Ypacari in Paraguay; Landscape in Argentina, landscape with people (motif from Argentina); Upper Castle Manderscheid; Wilhelm Tell, 1895; At the edge of the forest; Forest clearing; Poplars on Lake Menkin; Bispingen, field path on a hilltop and farmhouse; Menkin village smithy in the Uckermark; Dyck Castle; On the Isar near Bad Tölz, 1886; Wide autumn landscape in the Mark; Heidelberg, view from Neuenheimer Landstrasse to the Old Bridge, Heiligengeistkirche and Castle, 1884

Exhibitions (selection)

  • 1892 63rd Exhibition of the Kgl. Academy of Arts in Berlin
  • 1893–1924 regular participation in the great Berlin art exhibitions
  • 1892 28th large painting exhibition, Kunstverein Bremen
  • 1893 German Art Department, Chicago World Exhibition
  • 1894 29th large painting exhibition, Kunstverein Bremen
  • 1896 30th large painting exhibition, Kunstverein Bremen
  • 1902 Thuringian Exhibition Association of Visual Artists, Jena,
  • 1912 Kunstverein Wiesbaden, exhibition of 19th century international graphics

literature

Web links

Commons : Karl Oenike  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Document No. 188 in the Special Collections Department (Section 2, Ref. 1) of the Ibero-American Institute, Prussian Cultural Heritage, Berlin. It contains a cover letter from K. Oenike's daughter Irmgard Oenike with a summary of his expeditions and includes a detailed diary of the Brackebusch expedition in Argentina in 1888
  2. ↑ Herman ten Kate: Exotisme in de art. In: Elsevier Geïllustreerd Maandschrift. Pp. 349-352, year XXIII, T. XLVII (July to December 1913), Amsterdam
  3. ^ Unpublished biography about Karl Oenike, written by the granddaughter Johanna Kohlberger-Liebenthal.
  4. ↑ a b Herman Ten Kate: Exotisme in de art. P. 351.
  5. ↑ Herman Ten Kate: Exotism in de art. P. 349.
  6. ↑ Herman Ten Kate: Exotism in de art. P. 352.
  7. ↑ Paul Jordan: About my travels in Paraguay. In: Communications of the Imperial-Royal Geographical Society. Vienna 1893 (NF 26) 36: pp. 627-655.
  8. ^ Catalog of the 63rd exhibition of the Kgl. Academy of Arts in Berlin, 1892 ( digiview.gbv.de ).
  9. ^ Catalog of the Great Berlin Art Exhibition, 1896, plate 65 ( digiview.gbv.de ).
  10. ^ Works by Karl Oenike on artnet
  11. ↑ Works by Karl Oenike at art Genealogie (title only)
personal data
SURNAME Oenike, Karl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German landscape painter and etcher
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1862
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1924
Place of death Berlin