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Hermann Herzog

His faculty of catching, at a glance all that is characteristic in the motive before him, of choosing the most effective illumination, and even the most favorable season and time of day, assisted by a rapidity of execution which enables him to seize and fetter the most transient phenomena of light and shade . . . amounts to genius, and makes his pictures unique among landscapes.1

In these glowing works, a reviewer for the Philadelphia Press in 1885 regaled the paintings of Herman Herzog. The anonymous writer singled out qualities that characterize the enduring appeal of Herzog's paintings.

Herzog was born on November 16, 1831,2 in the Free Hanseatic State of Bremen, and entered the art academy in Dusseldorf at age seventeen.3 The most influential of his teachers was Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910), who was well known for his dark, stormy seascapes as well as his scenes of Norway's water-choked, rocky gorges. While a student, Herzog traveled a great deal, visiting Norway, Belgium, Holland, Bavaria, Switzerland, and Italy. The memories of the rugged aspects of those places remained with him for many years, and he continued to paint them after his move to the United States.

While yet a young painter he was patronized by Queen Victoria, Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, the Grand Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and the Countess of Flanders. Indeed, his work was praised in Europe long after he had settled in the United States. The Bremen News reported on March 19, 1886, "Quite apart in its individuality is a magnificent Norwegian Waterfall, by our countryman H. Herzog, whose works are, unfortunately, so rarely to be seen here."4

Herzog had moved to the United States in the late 1860s when it was certain that Bremen was to be annexed to Germany. After a brief residency in New Jersey he settled in West Philadelphia. He found a wealth of subjects for his canvasses in both states. He was particularly fond of Dingman's Ferry, a picturesque spot in the Delaware Water Gap, but he also ventured to the West on several trips after 1880 as well as to the Chesapeake Bay and the rocky coast of Maine.

In the 1880s Herzog began to visit Florida regularly. There bright yellows, sky blues, and cool greens entered his work, defining the sun-drenched, tropical environment.

Herzog did not exhibit his paintings much in his later years, though he continued to paint quite vigorously. After he began to reap the profits of his investment in Pennsylvania Railroad stock, he never sold another picture, a decision which removed the necessity of showing.5 Hundreds of his paintings thus have remained in the hands of his children and grandchildren until quite recently. His last exhibition, a joint show with his son Lewis, who was also a painter, was held at the Ferargil Galleries in New York, November 9 - 21, 1931. While the show was up Herzog celebrated his one hundredth birthday. Three months later he died at his home at 4104 Pine Street in West Philadelphia.

Herzog is a prolific painter who is known to have painted well over 1,000 canvases. He was not a recorder of specific places; rather his paintings are artistic experiments in capturing the changing effects of light and atmosphere and varieties of terrain.

Philadelphia Press, March 15, 1885, as quoted in "Illustrated Catalogue of Paintings Works of Hermann Herzog to the Sold by Auction without Reserve on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Evenings April 25th, 26th, and 27th. . .at the American Art Galleries . . . .," American Art Association, 1888.

2Herzog's year of birth has repeatedly been given as 1832, but this would be incorrect, if his obituary that appeared in Art Digest is accurate. It states that he died on February 6, 1932, having celebrated his 100th birthday the previous November. ("Herzog is Dead at 100, The Art Digest, vol. 6, no. 10, February 15, 1932, p. 8.)

3Herman Herzog, 1832-1932, American Landscape Painter, Baltimore, Md.: Phoenix Chase Galleries, n.d., p. 3.

4"Illustrated Catalogue of Paintings Works of Hermann Herzog to the Sold by Auction without Reserve on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Evenings April 25th, 26th, and 27th... at the American Art Galleries...., American Art Association, 1888.

5Phoenix Chase Galleries, p. 4.

6Ibid. and "Herzog is Dead at 100," The Art Digest, vol. 6, no. 2, February 15, 1932, p. 8.

Cynthia Seibels
c. 1991 Robert M. Hicklin Jr., Inc.

Biography courtesy of The Charleston Renaissance Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/charleston

Hermann Herzog (American, 1832-1932)

Herzog was born in Bremen, Germany in 1832. He studied landscape and figure paintings at the Dusseldorf Academy with Schirmer, Lessing, Achenbach and Gude (1849) and in Berlin (1867-1868) before moving to Philadelphia in 1869 where he set up a studio and exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Association.

Historical landscape painter Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and illustrious landscape artists Hans Frederick Gude and Andreas Achenbach highly influenced Herzog's painting style and encouraged him to paint the rugged wilderness he loved with realistic detail and a high finish. Herzog traveled through Europe during the 1850s and 1860s painting the animals, waterfalls and stormy clouds over dramatic landscapes in luminous light, exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1863 (where he won a prize) and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1863). In 1872 he painted in Yosemite and in Mexico.

By 1869, Herzog was a popular painter of means. He had sold paintings all over Europe and colleagues and critics alike were impressed that among his clientele were the Countess of Flanders, Emperor Alexander of Russia, Queen Victoria, Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg-Gothe, and other members of royal families.

When Herzog died in West Philadelphia at 100, the prolific painter left over 1,000 canvases to his heirs. Always in pursuit of the most beautiful, idyllic view, Herzog extensively traveled in search of it. Although he never dated his work (thus, it is difficult to place them chronologically or stylistically), he painted landscapes, marines and pastorals that uplifted the Hudson River tradition, and his work is reminiscent of Albert Bierstadt and Worthington Whittredge (who also studied in Dusseldorf).

Collections: Metropolitan Museum of Art; National Museum of American Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; New York Public Library; Crocker Museum (CA); Cincinnati Art Museum (OH); Reading Museum (PA); Hanover, Goth and Mulhouse Museums; Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley; Memorial Hall, Philadelphia (PA).

Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton

Hermann Herzog's life spanned one hundred years during a time when new artistic styles and methods appeared with great frequency. Born in Bremen, Germany, Herzog studied at the famed Dusseldorf Academy at just seventeen years of age. Dusseldorf was a hub of the international art world: American artists including Albert Bierstadt, James Hart, Worthington Whittredge, and Eastman Johnson learned their craft there. At the time of Herzog's enrollment, the academy implemented a major shift in program, altering its focus from history painting to landscape painting. This was a fortuitous occurrence for Herzog, whose artistic impulse found its greatest expression in landscape.

Herzog was an avid traveler and painted nearly the entire European continent. His distinguished patrons included Queen Victoria of England and Grand Duke Alexander of Russia. He received international mention and won medals from prestigious exhibitions before immigrating to the United States and settling in Philadelphia in 1869. In America, Herzog discovered a virgin landscape free from the taint of history. His instinct for exploration led him to traverse the continent; his journeys spanned from east to west and from Maine to Florida. As he hiked and biked unceasingly, his affinity for the new land intensified.

It was during this period that Herzog harnessed his extensive academic training in service of a highly refined personal style. The lifelong Herzog authority Don S. Lewis Jr. cites three major factors that distinguish the artist's style: Realism, Tonalism, and an autographic tendency. Within Herzog's body of work, these influences cannot be disentangled chronologically and are frequently combined in new and surprising ways. Yet throughout his oeuvre, he remained steadfast in his romantic view of the world, and a close inspection of his work reveals his unique and highly distinguishable artistic fingerprint.

Herzog exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the National Academy of Design, and the Brooklyn Art Association, and won prizes from the Paris Salon and the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. His work is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the White House.

Biography courtesy of Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, www.antiquesandfineart.com/questroyal

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