German school, pps. 20th century. "School examination".... Lot 2

German school, pps. 20th century. "School examination". After models by FRIEDRICH PETER HIDDEMANN (Düsseldorf, 1829-1892). Oil on canvas. Size: 73 x 92 cm; 88 x 107 cm (frame). The painter was inspired by a painting of the same name by Friedrich Peter Hiddemann, in which the pupils make a face of circumstance when their teachers ask them questions about the multiplication table. With a few variations, such as the type of window or the world map, the present author has sought to recapture the humorous spirit of the Düsseldorf painter, as well as one of his endearing genre scenes. German painter and lithographer of the Düsseldorf School. Hiddemann was the son of a Düsseldorf musician who had initially planned a musical career for him. However, he learned to draw in a preparatory class with Johann Peter Götting , and then entered the art academy in his home town. From 1848 he was a pupil of Theodor Hildebrandt and Wilhelm von Schadow. In 1856 Hiddemann completed his studies and in the same year went on a long study trip to France, Belgium and the Netherlands. After returning to Germany, Hiddemann settled in Düsseldorf as an independent artist. His son Benno was born there in 1861, who also appeared as a painter after 1900. Hiddemann's early works are dominated by historical subjects; later he increasingly devoted himself to genre painting. Despite the sometimes simple composition, Hiddemann designed his pictures in an atmospheric manner, so that humour was rarely lacking. Hiddemann often dealt with themes from his native Rhineland. He produced commissioned works as an illustrator for various publishing houses. Of particular note are the 35 woodcuts with which he illustrated Fritz Reuter's Ut mine Stromtid. Several of his paintings were widely disseminated through engravings made from them. Robert Trossin produced Das Quartett, Fritz Dinger. His most famous work, The Prussian Publicists under Frederick the Great (1873), has also been reproduced several times.