Georg Bleibtreu
Encyclopedia
Georg Bleibtreu German painter of military and historical scenes.

Biography

Born in Xanten
Xanten
Xanten is a historic town in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany, located in the district of Wesel.Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park or archaeological open air museum , its medieval picturesque city centre with Xanten Cathedral and many museums, its large man-made lake for...

 on March 27, 1828), Bleibtreu was a painter, lithographer, designer and 'graveur sur bois'. He was a member of the Berlin Academy, receiving two gold medals for his works; he also received a medal at Vienna in 1873. Like many historical painters of the 19th century, he studied at the Düsseldorf Academy between 1843 and 1848, and also with the historical and military painter, Theodore Hildebrandt. In 1858 he moved to Berlin.

His reputation was built on large canvasses depicting the Prussian and German armies in battle, and he painted numerous scenes of the Schleswig-Holstein War of 1864, the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...

 of 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...

. The background work to these paintings was done in the field as the artist accompanied the armies; in 1866, he traveled in the suite of Prince Frederick Charles until August when he returned to Berlin with a portfolio of sketches taken at the front. And in 1870, he accompanied the Crown Prince. Following the successful war against Denmark, the Prussian king invited artists in December 1864 to compete for a prize of 10,000 thaler by painting a large canvas representing the victory at Düppel
Düppel
Düppel can refer to:* The German name for Dybbøl, a town in Denmark famed for an 1864 battle* Berlin-Düppel * Düppel Forest, a forest in south of Berlin* Chaff...

, the winning piece to by sent to the National Gallery in Berlin. One of the requirements was that artists had to be familiar with the subject and had experienced the war. Bleibtreu's piece was bought by the king in 1865, and the latter also commissioned the artist to paint the Crossing of the Alsen.

His painting of the Battle of Königgratz
Battle of Königgrätz
The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...

 depicted King William on a black horse with his suite, Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...

, Moltke
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 19th century, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...

, Roon, and others, watching the battle; in the foreground is a detachment of captured Austrians. This style pervaded many of Bleibtreu's works where the focus was on the commander, who was often a member of the German royal family, surrounded by his soldiers in battle; this was often because the painting was a commission from the personage depicted.

Shortly after the end of the war with France, he set up a studio in a quiet wing of the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....

 to commence work on two paintings, one representing the Crown Prince of Prussia at Worth, and the other, King William at Battle of Sedan
Battle of Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...

. In 1876, he exhibited two Franco-Prussian war scenes at the Royal Academy in Berlin.

Bleibtreu died at Charlottenbourg on October 16, 1892. His work is rarely seen today, and some of his paintings were destroyed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, although pictures of his works can be seen in histories of the various German wars, and regimental histories.

Paintings

  • Battle of Kolding (1852)
  • Destruction of the Kiel Turner-Corps at Flensburg (1852)
  • Battles of Grossbeeren on the Katzbach (1857)
  • Battle of Aspern
  • Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick in Battle of Crefeld (1858)
  • Episode from Battle of Waterloo
    Battle of Waterloo
    The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

    (1858)
  • Skirmishes on Königshugel at Oeversee
  • Soldiers crossing to Alsen in 1864
  • Battle of Königgratz
    Battle of Königgrätz
    The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...

  • Charge of the 12th Thuringian Hussars at Rosberitz during the Battle of Königgratz
    Battle of Königgrätz
    The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...

  • The Emperor at the battle of Vionville
  • At the Loigny, December 2, 1870
  • The Meeting of Von Moltke
    Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
    Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 19th century, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...

     and Wimpfen the Evening before Sedan
  • Surrender of Napoleon after Sedan
    Battle of Sedan
    The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...

  • The Bavarians before Paris
  • King William near a battery before Paris
  • Crown Prince Albert of Saxony at the Battle of Gravelotte
    Battle of Gravelotte
    The Battle of Gravelotte was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier.-Terrain and armies:...

    , August 18, 1870
  • King William after Battle of Gravelotte
    Battle of Gravelotte
    The Battle of Gravelotte was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier.-Terrain and armies:...

  • Napoleon's flight after Battle of Waterloo
    Battle of Waterloo
    The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

    (1878)
  • Attack of Saxon Corps at St. Privat (1880)
  • Storming of Fröschweiler by the Würtemberg Troops (1880)
  • The Summons in 1813 (1881)
  • York at Wartenburg, 1813

Further reading

  • Champlin, J. D. (ed.). Cyclopedia of Painters and Paintings. New York, Scribners, 1887, page 165.
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