Carl Spitzweg painted this image, "Der Maler" (The Artist). It portrays a young artist taking a break from painting and day dreaming under a tree. Spitzweg painted scenes like this one that portrayed normal activities in a way that makes us stop and appreciate the beauty of nature and our everyday life. The Artist, 1850… Continue reading Spitzweg painted scenes that make us appreciate the beauty of nature and our everyday life
Published in 1613 by Basilius Besler, the book "Hortus Eystettensis" contained the first finely detailed depiction of a Sunflower (Flos solis maior). The emphasis in botanicals of previous centuries had been on medicinal and culinary herbs, and these had usually been depicted in a crude manner. The images were often inadequate for identification, and had… Continue reading This amazingly detailed sunflower image was printed 408 years ago in Nuremberg, Germany
This vintage photo from post war Lübeck in northern Germany is not the best quality but it shows that even in those hard times, little German kids loved to dress up like Cowboys und Indianer. Looking at this now I have to laugh at my brother's Indian outfit...that white holster just did not look right.… Continue reading Cowboys und Indianer
The Biedermeier style, which originated in Germany and Austria, flourished in the prosperous middle-class homes of Europe from about 1815 to 1848. A "Zimmerbild", which is a chamber painting, of a room in Berlin, circa 1825, representing the Biedermeier era: fitted carpets, unified window and pier-mirror draperies, and framed engravings in a restrained classical style…… Continue reading The Biedermeier Era is sometimes referred to as the Romantic era
"Ostpreussen...Reisewege Nach Cranz an die Ostsee"....Vintage travel advertising for routes to the popular German Baltic Sea resort at Cranz This 1930's advertising poster shows the various routes to the seaside resort at Cranz... by train, car, sea or by air... with emphasis on routes from Berlin and Breslau. Of particular interest to historians is how… Continue reading Travel routes to the popular German seaside resort at Cranz in East Prussia in 1930
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, 1855 painting by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann We all know the fairy tales that made the Grimm brothers famous. The two brothers collected, edited, modified and popularized stories such as "Cinderella" "(Aschenputtel)", "The Frog Prince" ("Der Froschkönig"), "Hansel and Gretel" ("Hänsel und Gretel"), "Rapunzel", "Rumpelstiltskin" ("Rumpelstilzchen"), and "Snow White" ("Schneewittchen"). Their 1812 book is commonly… Continue reading Grimm brothers German folk tales were not originally intended for children
This portrait of Queen Victoria and family was painted by Franz Winterhalter in 1846. Winterhalter was a German artist who first visited Britain in 1842 and became one of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's favorite painters, creating about 120 works for them. Queen Victoria was the last British monarch of the German House of Hanover.… Continue reading Queen Victoria and Prince Albert continued the German heritage of British monarchs
This vintage 1928 advertising poster for Aachen, Germany was created by Jupp Wiertz, one of Germany's foremost graphic artists... an image of his hometown. Text on this poster translates to: Aachen...The memorable forest encircled city of Charlemagne, famous for its healthful natural hot springs. Aachen 1928 Travel poster Interior of the Aachen Cathedral, the Kaiserdom… Continue reading Aachen…The memorable forest encircled city of Charlemagne
Imagine yourself in an airship anchored to a pole at the top of the tallest building in New York ...getting ready to disembark onto the rooftop. That was the plan when the Empire State Building was finished in 1929. In 1936, this German advertising poster was produced, showing the Zeppelin "Hindenburg" approaching the Empire State… Continue reading German airship approaching the top of the tallest building in New York
This advertisement is from the first year of Germany's national airline. The airline name at the time was made up of two words... Luft and Hansa... meaning air and merchants...and the poster shows city connections that were available in this first year of the airline. The 1926 airplane depicted is the Junkers F 13, a… Continue reading Lufthansa Art Deco 1926 Travel Poster
