Prussian painter, draftsman and illustrator Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel (1815 - 1905) is considered the most important artist of realism. In addition, one could also recognize Impressionism in his paintings. This style inspired him during a trip to Paris. For example, he created the paintings "the Balcony Room" and "Forest Night". Ultimately, he developed his own style and painting technique, with which he was ahead of his time.
Menzel was often dubbed "the little excellence", because at 1.40 m. he was rather short and gnome-like. His artistic career began in 1839, when he was commissioned by the German historian Franz Theodor Kugler to create illustrations for a multi-volume history of Frederick the Great. Menzel demonstrated great diligence by creating 400 pen-and-ink drawings within three years. Through this work he became known to the general public and he received further commissions. In the beginning it was historical paintings that Menzel created. Later, he often dealt with the present in his paintings.
Menzel's life was rather boring and uneventful, as he lived in seclusion and without friends. Thus, he traveled frequently and sought to compensate for his loneliness with his paintings. Because of his size, he could never participate in battles, so he wanted to express his sense of duty. This is how he created one of his most famous paintings "Frederick and His Own in the Battle of Hochkirch" from the period between 1850 and 1856, which was exhibited both in the Academy of Arts and later in the Paris World's Fair and caused rather incomprehension among the public, since the inspiration of the painting depicts the defeat in the Battle of Hochkirch from 1758, in which the Prussians desperately try to repel the Austrian surprise attack. In the center and elevated to the troops is King Frederick II, who is trying to organize the counterattack. What is striking about the painting is that Menzel placed the anonymous soldiers in the foreground, which clearly set the painting apart from other battle paintings. In 1866, he traveled to the scenes of the wars. As a result, his paintings became more somber, depicting dying and dead soldiers. Eventually he turned away from battle paintings and painted construction sites or other localities of Berlin, the city where he lived and which was then becoming the capital of the German Empire. In 1895, he became an honorary citizen of Berlin on his 80th birthday. Menzel saw his death coming, which he wrote in a New Year's greeting to Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1905.
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.jpg "Iron Rolling Mill by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Flute Concert with Frederick the Great in Sanssouci, 1850-1852 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Horse Study by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "King Frederick II")
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.jpg "Living Room with Menzel")
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.jpg "The Balcony Room by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Artist")
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.jpg "The Ball Supper by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Balcony Room. 1845 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Ball Supper by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Armor Chamber Fantasy, 1866 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Rolling Mill, Work in the Forge by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Coronation of King William I in Koenigsberg in 1861, c.1861-65 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Dinner Table at Sanssouci, 1850 by Adolph Menzel")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-275264).jpg "Armour, 1866 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Artist")
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.jpg "At the Kreuzberg by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Studio Wall by Adolph Menzel")
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 in Lissa Bonsoir Messieurs 1858 - (MeisterDrucke-73702).jpg "Frederick II the Great in Lissa, Bonsoir, Messieurs! 1858 by Adolph Menzel")
 in Lissa Bonsoir Messieurs 1858 - (MeisterDrucke-73702).jpg)
.jpg "On a Journey to Beautiful Countryside, 1892 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Prince of Anhalt-Dessau by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "In the Open Air by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Artist")
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.jpg "Concert of Berlin Bilsekapelle by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Room with balcony by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Student Torchlight Procession by Adolph Menzel")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-71009).jpg "Prince Otto von Bismarck, 1865 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Flute Concert of Frederick the Great in Sanssouci by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Laying Out of the March Dead by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Peasant Theatre in the Tyrol by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Richard, the Brother of the Artist by Adolph Menzel")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-106611).jpg "Twelve-Year Old Jesus in the Temple, 1851 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Iron-Rolling Mill by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Frederick the Great entertaining Voltaire at Sanssouci, Germany by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Breakfast at the Cafe, 1894 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Speech before the Battle of Leuthen by Adolph Menzel")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-94157).jpg "Emilie, the Artist")
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.jpg "The Round Table of Frederick II at Sanssouci Sketch, 1848 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Painter Adolph Menzel by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Portrait of an Old Man, 1884 by Adolph Menzel")
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_with_Voltaire_(Francois_Ma_-_(MeisterDrucke-1002966).jpg "The Round Table of Frederic II of Prussia with Voltaire and Christoph Ludwig von Stille at the Palace of Sanssouci by Adolph Menzel")
_with_Voltaire_(Francois_Ma_-_(MeisterDrucke-1002966).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-82936).jpg "Letter admitting a Freeman of Berlin, 27th March 1871 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Dinner at the Ball, 1878 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Bedroom of the Artist, Ritterstrasse by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Departure of King Wilhelm I to the Army by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Boat Trip, 1892 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Bust of a Woman, Seen from Behind, 1893 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Hans Joachim von Zieten, One of Frederick the Great")
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.jpg "Essay on Stone with Brush and Scraper: The Convoy of Prisoners through a Woods by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Broken Jug by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Luther Luder von Braunschweig, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, 1846 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "View from the Studio Window at Marienstraße 22 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Coronation of William I as King of Prussia at Königsberg Castle in 1861, 1861 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Artist’s Model, Seen in Back View, Putting on an Eighteenth-Century Uniform by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Studies on the High Wheel, Technical Details by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Study of a Jew, c1880-1882 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Essay on Stone with Brush and Scraper: The Bear Pit by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Head of a Young Woman Seen from Below by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Head Study by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Pulpit Sermon in the Parish Church in Innsbruck by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Clara Schmidt von Knobelsdorff by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Iron Rolling Mill by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Essay on Stone with Brush and Scraper: Playing at Hoops on the Castle Terrace by Adolph Menzel")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1090413).jpg "Prussian Grenadiers of the time of Frederick the Great by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Study of a Seated Man, Study of the Left Hand in the Upper Left by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Building Site with Willows by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Essay on Stone with Brush and Scraper: Chase on the Winding Staircase by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Reunion at the Mansion by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Frederick William I, King of Prussia in His Regalia by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Pastry Shop in the Spa Park in Kissingen by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Address of Frederick the Great to his generals before the battle of Leuthen 1757 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Man with Mustache and Hat by Adolph Menzel")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-57014).jpg "In the Opera House by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Interior of the Old-New Synagogue in Prague by Adolph Menzel")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-43244).jpg "Knight Tournament by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Choir of the Old Monastery Church in Berlin by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Portrait of Adolph Menzel in Younger Days by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Half-Figure of a Bearded Old Man with Bowed Head by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Artist’s Model, Seen in Back View, Putting on an Eighteenth-Century Uniform by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Evening Party by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The High Altar of the Damenstiftskirche in Munich by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Sleeping Seamstress at the Window by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Frederick the Great Concert at Sanssouci, 1852, 1900 by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Bearded Worker Head in Profile by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Study of an Italian Girl by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Essay on Stone with Brush and Scraper: Chase on the Winding Staircase by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Victims of the March Revolution in Berlin Lying in State by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Horse Study. Head in Profile Facing Right by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Voltaire seated next to King Frederick II at the Château de Sans Souci, Potsdam, Germany, 1878 by Adolph Menzel")
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 with Zieten at the Camp 1852 - (MeisterDrucke-38499).jpg "Frederick the Great with Zieten at the Camp by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Menzel")
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.jpg "Theatre of the Gymnase in Paris by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "The Iron Rolling Mill (Modern Cyclopes) by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "In the Boudoir by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Honorary Citizenship Document of the City of Hamburg by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Garden in Kissingen by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "In the Louvre, 1867 by Adolph Menzel")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-76802).jpg "Study for a portrait of Mrs Von Maercker by Adolph Menzel")
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.jpg "Palace Garden of Prince Albrecht by Adolph Menzel")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-607904).jpg "The Iron Rolling Mill by Adolph Menzel")
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