Ernst Meyer

Key facts

Lived

1797–1861^[1]

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• What is Ernst Meyer known for?+

  Ernst Meyer is known for his genre scenes of Italian coastal life. His 1833^[1] painting of a Neapolitan fishing family was purchased by Crown Prince Christian VIII of Denmark, and Landing on Capri became very popular in reproduction.
• What is Ernst Meyer's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name one single work as Ernst Meyer's most famous. He was born in 1891 near Cologne, and he died in France in 1976. Meyer is associated with Dada and Surrealism. Meyer did not have formal artistic training. He studied philosophy at the University of Bonn. He was interested in psychology and the art of the mentally unwell. In 1919, Meyer produced his first collages and co-founded the Cologne Dada movement. He was involved in Surrealist activities in the early 1920s. Meyer is known for collage novels, such as *La Femme 100 têtes* (1929). He also produced illustrated books, such as *Mr. Knife and Miss Fork* (1931). His collages used existing imagery. By juxtaposing and combining elements, he produced works with his personal stamp. Meyer also made frottages, and a series of these were published in his book *Histoire Naturelle* in 1926.
• What should I know about Ernst Meyer's prints?+

  Ernst Meyer (1887-1963^[1]) was a German artist known for his printmaking, particularly within the Expressionist movement. Expressionist artists often favoured woodcuts for their directness and bold, graphic qualities. Meyer's prints, like those of other Expressionists, such as members of Die Brücke (The Bridge) group, aimed to convey inner emotion and agitation through a simplified, often angular style. These artists sought to revolutionise art by rejecting established forms in favour of a more direct and symbolic language. Printmaking during this period was seen as a means of artistic expression and a way to reach a wider audience, due to the ability to produce works in greater quantities at a lower cost. Artists like Kirchner found that working with woodcuts helped them to achieve more simplified and stable forms in their work. The emphasis was on the artistic content and the artist's intention, rather than technical refinement or rarity.
• What style or movement did Ernst Meyer belong to?+

  It is difficult to assign Ernst Meyer to a single style or movement. Styles are devices by which a work of art is created; each work has a style peculiar to itself, outside any general style of the time. Examining art from different ages, such as Chinese, Watteau, and Impressionist pictures, reveals different points of view. Despite these differences, the people who witnessed their creation understood them. Even when ages are rejected or ignored due to cultural differences, any new style, when vividly expressed, can initially be incomprehensible, like the style of a remote age. Styles in art are like styles in language; they are a matter of weighted preferences. When judging a style, one judges a tendency, and one may discern a tendency without being able to define it in any individual case.
• What techniques or materials did Ernst Meyer use?+

  Ernst Meyer (1797^[1]-1861^[1]) was a German painter, a major figure in the transition from late classicism to early realism. He is best known for his Italian genre paintings. Meyer began his artistic training at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. He then moved to Rome, where he spent much of his career. He initially worked in the studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen, the Danish sculptor. Meyer's early paintings show the influence of classicism, with an emphasis on clear lines and balanced compositions. However, Meyer gradually developed his own style, one characterised by a greater naturalism and attention to detail. He began to paint scenes from everyday life in Italy, depicting peasants, fishermen, and other ordinary people. His paintings are notable for their realistic portrayal of clothing, architecture, and the Italian countryside. Meyer worked primarily in oils, using a careful technique to create a smooth, polished surface. He also made use of glazing to achieve subtle effects of light and shadow.
• What was Ernst Meyer known for?+

  Master E.S., active in the Upper Rhine region, was an influential engraver during the third quarter of the fifteenth century. Over three hundred engravings are attributed to him. His work includes playing cards, ornamental designs, alphabets, and many depictions of the Madonna and Child. His training as a goldsmith is evident in the firm outlines of his figures and his frequent use of goldsmith's punches on garments and armour. One of his contributions to shading techniques is the "crosshatch", a combination of parallel strokes in two directions that allows a dramatic contrast of light and shadow. One well-known engraving is the Large Einsiedeln Madonna (1466), commissioned by Benedictine monks for the anniversary of the chapel of Saint Meinrad. It depicts the architectural setting of the chapel, with the Madonna and Child on an altar. The coat of arms of the Vatican is displayed, indicating papal sanction. Pilgrims are shown adoring the Virgin. The Madonna and Child have a sculptural appearance, similar to the sculptures of Nicolaus Gerhaerts van Leyden. His Madonna and Child images served as models for mother-of-pearl medallions.
• When did Ernst Meyer live and work?+

  Ernst Meyer was active as an artist in Berlin during the mid-19th century. In 1847^[1], the Meyer family relocated to Ritterstrasse. The following year, after street fighting in Berlin, Meyer witnessed the bodies of citizens killed in the insurrection. He then started working on an oil painting, Lying in State of the Victims of the March Revolution, though it remained unfinished. From 1849, Meyer painted scenes from the life of Frederick the Great. He began The Flute Concert of Frederick the Great at Sanssouci, returning to it in 1851 and completing it in 1852. He finished The Round Table of Frederick II at Sanssouci in 1850. Meyer visited the Exposition Universelle in Paris in September, where his Round Table was exhibited. He also visited Courbet's solo exhibition.
• Where can I see Ernst Meyer's work?+

  Works by Ernst Meyer can be found in several European museums and collections. These include the Kunstmuseum and the Gottfried Keller Stiftung, both in Berne; the Kunstmuseum in Basle; the Kunsthaus in Zurich; and the Kunstmuseum in Winterthur. Meyer's pieces are also held at the Petit Palais in Geneva, as well as the Staechelin Foundation and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. In Germany, one can find his works in the Brucke Museum and the Nationalgalerie, both located in Berlin. Other German locations include the Kunsthalle and Sammlung Bottcherstrasse in Bremen; the Ludwig Museum and Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne; the Folkwang Museum in Essen; the Kunsthalle in Hamburg; the Niedersachsisches Landesmuseum in Hanover; the Stadtische Kunsthalle in Mannheim; the Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen in Munich; and the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal.
• Where was Ernst Meyer from?+

  Ernst Meyer was born in Altona, near Hamburg, in 1797^[1]. At the time, Altona was the second-largest city in Denmark, as it was part of the Danish kingdom until 1864. Meyer's artistic training began at the Copenhagen Academy, where he studied with Christian August Lorentzen. Meyer's career soon took him beyond Denmark. He travelled to Berlin, Dresden, and Munich before settling in Rome in 1824^[1]. Rome became his primary residence, and he associated with other artists working there, including Bertel Thorvaldsen. Meyer became a well-regarded figure in the artistic circles of Rome, known for his genre paintings and scenes of Italian life. Although he spent much of his adult life in Italy, Meyer retained his connection to his Danish background. His early training in Copenhagen shaped his artistic development, and his birthplace of Altona remained an important part of his identity. Meyer died in Rome in 1861^[1].
• Who did Ernst Meyer influence?+

  Max Ernst's influence can be seen in the work of several artists, including Joan Miró, André Masson, Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. Ernst's association with Jean Arp in Cologne, around 1919, involved experimenting with the metamorphosis of images. His technique of frottage (rubbing), developed after a memory of childhood, aided his meditative and hallucinatory capabilities. Arp wrote the introduction to Ernst's 1926 portfolio, *Natural History*. Both artists foreshadowed the Surrealist movement. Ernst's biomorphic shapes recur in both Miró and Calder, who also created imaginative worlds unrelated to perceived reality. Ernst, along with Masson, was among the most influential of the Surrealist émigrés to America. Both artists cultivated automatism and experimented with unusual materials, which suggested images. The inspirational force of the Surrealists on the emergent New York School at this time is undeniable. Ernst was important to artists like Pollock and Rothko, not only for his revolutionary procedures, but also for his totemic figuration and relentless development of related images.
• Who influenced Ernst Meyer?+

  Ernst Meyer's artistic development was shaped by several key figures and movements. The 1912 Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne, which showcased Fauvist, Expressionist, and Cubist works, had a considerable impact. August Macke, an Expressionist artist, mentored Meyer and introduced him to the Blue Rider group, leading to a meeting with Kandinsky in 1914. Meyer also encountered Robert Delaunay and Guillaume Apollinaire during their visit to Macke. These encounters reinforced Meyer’s artistic direction. Another significant influence was Hans Arp, whom Meyer met in 1914. Arp shared Meyer's interest in modern art and later established Dadaism in Zurich. Meyer also maintained contact with Luise Straus, an art history student, who kept him informed about the art world during the war. Meyer's early works show the impact of Expressionism, particularly Vincent van Gogh. He also drew inspiration from Manet, Gauguin, Goya, Macke, and Kandinsky. By 1919, Meyer was working with Arp in Cologne, exploring image metamorphosis and juxtaposition. Giorgio de Chirico's distorted perspectives and enigmatic style also influenced Meyer, particularly in works created around 1919.
• Who was Ernst Meyer?+

  Ernst Meyer is not mentioned in the provided texts. The texts concern Ferdinand von Mueller (1825^[1]-1896^[1]), a German-Australian botanist. Mueller received a PhD for his botanical thesis in 1847. He emigrated to Australia with his siblings shortly after. In 1853, he was appointed the first Government Botanist of Victoria, and he established a herbarium. Four years later, he also became the Director of the Botanic Gardens, developing it into a centre for botanical science and recreation. Mueller never married. He had a close relationship with his sisters and later with his nieces, some of whom had botanical interests. He maintained contact with Edith Annie Roberts, a teacher, to whom he gifted a special box. He also corresponded with several women who collected plants for him. Mueller died in 1896. He was remembered as an erudite and industrious scientist who put Australian botany on the map internationally. His interests extended beyond botany to geology, zoology, exploration, and acclimatisation.