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Sylvia Rose

Great 19th Century German Woman Artists

Updated: Sep 28

Women artists of the late nineteenth century include Elisabet Ney, Anna Peters and Dora Hitz. In the youthful German Empire women's rights movements gain ground despite conservative opposition. Woman artists, inventors and entrepreneurs make their presence felt.


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More women are involved in the visual and literary arts, as lessons in painting and poetry are proper for young ladies. Most came from progressively thinking families wealthy enough to send them to art school or employ tutors, or experienced enough to teach them at home.


As demand rises in the later half of the century various art schools for women open. Women can learn artistic skills and techniques and learn anatomy from plaster casts, but still aren't allowed to draw from a nude model. It's deemed improper and even dangerous.


Finally, near the turn of the century rules relaxed and women can finally do live studies. Sort of. In the Academies at least, the model has to be draped.



1. Elisabet Ney (1833 - 1907)



Famous German women artists of the 19th century include groundbreaking sculptor Elisabet Ney - statue of Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth by Elisabet Ney (photo Ingrid Fisch)

Born in Münster (northwest Germany) in 1833, Elisabet Ney becomes one of the first sculptors in the world to make a living from her work. Her father is also a sculptor and teaches her his skills.


Highly independent, she doesn't take no for an answer when she wanted to pursue studies in the arts as a professional sculptor. She goes on a lengthy hunger strike until her parents capitulate. In 1852 she enters the Munich Academy of Arts as the first female sculptor ever.


Later she studies in Berlin under Christian Daniel Rauch, the leading German sculptor of the times. She becomes part of his inner circle of student artists, who undertake the tradition of working at the studio of the Master.



Elisabet Ney, a foremost woman sculptor, with a bust in studio, painting by Friedrich Kaulbach
Elisabet Ney in studio, by Friedrich Kaulbach

Elisabet Ney seeks commissions from wealthy patrons, and establishes herself as a proficient creator of busts and statues. She immortalizes people like Otto von Bismarck, Arthur Schopenhauer, Jakob Grimm and Pope Pius IX.


An advocate of natural health, she rejects the contemporary body-cinching fashions for flowing gowns and clothes made for ease of movement. Like many women artists and activists she also cuts her hair short, in contrast to the predominant style of long heavy tresses.



2. Anna Peters (1843 - 1926)



Floral with orange poppies by German artist Anna Peters
Floral by Anna Peters

Daughter of a Dutch artist, Anna Peters is the first woman in Germany to make a living entirely from her artwork. Her sister Pietronella is also successful as a painter, specializing in portraits and genre works of children.


Born in Mannheim, Peters lives and worked primarily in southern Germany. Her works include drawings, oil paintings and watercolors.




White Storks in their nest at Luisenpark in Mannheim,
White Storks in their nest at Luisenpark in Mannheim. Storks symbolize creation.


She's especially known for flower still lifes in the Dutch tradition, including details such as insects; and castle decorations in Stuttgart and elsewhere. Her first known picture dates to 1860. Later work is more impressionistic.


She regularly takes part in art shows in Berlin, Dresden, Stuttgart and Vienna, winning several medals. From 1880 she's a member of the association of female Berlin artists (Berliner Künstlerinnen) and in 1893 she co-founds the Württemberg Painters Association,


"to create a center for the ladies of Württemberg who are active in arts and crafts and to offer them the opportunity for them to interact with each other and, above all, to be able to give each other stimulation and support in their artistic endeavors."


Anna Peters at work in her studio, Germany, nineteenth century german woman artists
Artist in Her Studio by Petronella Peters

Anna Peters creates fertile ground for countless artists to succeed. Female interest in the fine arts spikes at this time. In 1864/5 the Royal Art School in Stuttgart has eight female students.


It wasn't long before demand forces the school had to reject some male students and organize women's classes. Women aren't allowed to study the nude, but where formal education faltered, the Württemberg Painters' Association and similar groups find a niche.


3. Dora Hitz (1856 - 1924)



Born in southwest Germany, Dora Hitz goes to Munich at age thirteen to study at the Damenmalschule der Frau Staatsrat Weber, an art school for young ladies. She attends the school for eight years, 1870 - 1878.



Dreamy expressive painting of a woman with long red hair, "Twilight" by German artist Dora Hitz 19th century
Twilight, by Dora Hitz

Hitz is known for a wide variety of work including oil paintings, book illustrations and frescoes. In 1876 she meets the Queen Consort of Romania, leading to her appointment as Romanian court painter.


She travels and finds inspiration in Paris, Berlin, Brittany and Normandy. After 1880 she returns to France and is active in women's rights and artists' groups. She exhibits regularly at the highly esteemed Salon de Beaux Arts. Among her friends is German artist Käthe Kollwitz.


In 1898 she is among the founding members of the influential Berlin Secession. The impetus behind the group comes when the 1891 International Art Exhibition in Berlin rejects paintings by Norwegian Edvard Munch. Bad vibes grow between artists and institutions, coming to a head when the Berlin Academy rejects work from another modern artist, Walter Leistikow.


The Secession is founded as a "free association for the organization of artistic exhibitions". The establishment of the Berlin Secession involves sixty-five artists and opens roads for a bold new art form in Germany - Expressionism.




Non-Fiction Books:


Fiction Books:

READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series

READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries





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