"Virgin And Child By Hugo Barthelme (1822 Eusenhausen - 1895 Munich)"
This masterfully antique painting depicts the Virgin and Child and is the work of the renowned German painter and fresco artist Hugo Barthelme (1822 Eusenhausen, Lower Franconia – 1895 Munich). Hugo Barthelme was the son of a Bavarian customs inspector. He received his early education in Würzburg in 1840, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich to study painting. His teachers there included the history painter Johann von Schraudolph and Heinrich Hess. Barthelme devoted himself primarily to Christian art and acquired a thorough knowledge of fresco techniques.
In 1850, he painted a Virgin and Child that was acquired by the Munich Artists' Association. That same year, he created the Advent painting "Joseph and Mary Seeking Refuge," which was purchased by the Prague Artists' Association, as well as the Easter painting "The Apparition of Christ to the Weeping Mary Magdalene." Thanks to the support of patrons, he was able to travel to England in 1857, where he painted several portraits and a large fresco for Birmingham Cathedral. Upon returning to Munich, he participated in the restoration of the former Landständehaus in Landshut.
In 1860, King Maximilian II commissioned him to paint murals for the National Museum in Munich. Among his works are "The Founding of the University of Erlangen by Margrave Frederick of Bayreuth" and "Prince-Bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal Delivers the Inaugural Address at the Second Secular Celebration of the University of Würzburg in 1782." For the Munich residence, Barthelme created the painting "Duke Albrecht III Punishes the Robber Barons." Barthelme then received an important commission in Weissenhorn, Swabia. The parish church of the Assumption of Mary had collapsed in 1859 and had to be demolished. Beginning in 1865, the building was reconstructed in the Neo-Romanesque style, according to the plans of the Munich architect August von Voit. During the summer of 1868–1869, Barthelme painted the four vaults of the central nave as well as the vault of the organ loft.
For the University Church of Würzburg, deconsecrated during secularization and reopened for worship in 1852, Barthelme adorned the then-bare walls with religious paintings from 1884 onwards. He worked on this commission until the autumn of 1887, then returned to Munich where he produced some genre scenes.
Some were acquired by King Ludwig II, who presented them to figures in his entourage. Since 1860, Barthelme had been a member of the Munich Association of Christian Art, to which he remained affiliated until his death in 1895.
Bibliography in German: "Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenen Künstler" by Thieme/Becker, Leipzig, 1999; "General German Biographical Lexicon" by Hyacinth Holland, Leipzig, 1902.
Inscription: signed and dated 1855 lower right.
Technique: oil on canvas, luxurious period gold-plated frame.
Dimensions: unframed: 47 × 57.5 cm; framed: 66.5 × 77.5 cm.
Condition: very good.
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