von Werner Anton Alexander

 Born on 09 May 1843: Anton Alexander von Werner, German painter and illustrator who died on 04 January 1915.




He studied at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin from 1859 and in 1862 moved to Karlsruhe, where he studied under Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, Ludwig Des Coudres [1820–1878] and Adolf Schrödter. Under the influence of Karl Friedrich Lessing he became interested in history painting. He was a friend of the poet Victor von Scheffel and illustrated his works (e.g. Gaudeamus, 1867). In 1867 von Werner was in Paris and in 1868–1869 in Italy. 

     On returning to Germany in 1870 he received his first important commissions. He specialized in detailed scenes of contemporary events, particularly those involving soldiers. His best-known work, William of Prussia Proclaimed Emperor of Germany, 18th January 1870 (1877, now destroyed, but another version survives), depicts the event he had witnessed at Versailles; it is a typical example of his sober, naturalistic style and his taste for patriotic subjects. 

     In 1874 von Werner became a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin and a year later was appointed director. In 1909 he succeeded Hugo von Tschudi as director of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Werner was a favorite of William II, who appears in many of his paintings. Both their meticulous detail and military subjects appealed to the Emperor and his circle but were much criticized and ridiculed by progressive circles, as was Werner’s reactionary attitude towards politics and culture. His work, immensely popular during his lifetime, fell out of favor with the rise of modernism, which he had implacably opposed.