Anton von Werner

Anton von Werner - Studies in Berlin and Karlsruhe; favourite of the crown prince

Anton von Werner was born on 9th May 1843 in Frankfurt an der Oder. The scion of a Prussian officer's family, he showed an artistic talent at an early age, which was encouraged by those around him. After a successful apprenticeship as a parlour painter, he attended the Berlin Academy of Arts from 1860, moving to Karlsruhe just two years later, where he was taught by Ludwig des Coudres, Carl Friedrich Lessing, Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and Adolph Schroedter. His friendship with the poet Joseph Victor Scheffel brought him into contact with Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who invited him to attend the proclamation of the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles in 1871. Anton von Werner referenced this event in a whole series of paintings, which are among the most famous in his oeuvre. Friedrich Wilhelm had already enabled the painter to observe and artistically capture the end of the Franco-Prussian War at the headquarters of the Third Army, commanded by the Crown Prince himself.

Busy and highly honoured court painter to the emperor

Thanks to his excellent relationship with Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, Anton von Werner was able to forge important connections with Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Chief of the General Staff Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke and, above all, Kaiser Wilhelm. The emperor appreciated von Werner's style of painting and made him his first advisor in all matters of art. Werner became one of the busiest artists in the Empire, settled in the imperial capital Berlin and married Malvine Schroedter, the daughter of his former teacher Adolph Schroedter and the painter Alwine Schroedter. Anton von Werner received prizes and honours for his work, including the Order of the Red Eagle First Class with ribbon and the title of Councillor First Class which granted him the title ‘Excellency’. At Bismarck's express wish, in collaboration with Lorenz Gedon, Anton von Werner organised the German presentation at the 1878 World Exhibition in Paris where he placed the iron rolling mill of Adolph Menzel, whom he admired as a great artist, centre stage.

Controversial and criticised: Little remains of his former fame

Anton von Werner painted in an almost photographic style without a deeper level of interpretation and his frequently reproduced history paintings are regarded as realistic documentations with limited artistic value. Even during his lifetime, his rigid adherence to this style of painting, combined with his harsh rejection of modern art (in which he was in complete agreement with his patron Kaiser Wilhelm), brought him into fierce conflict with other painters and art critics, and Werner was at the forefront of the ‘Munch case’, the fierce dispute over an exhibition of the Norwegian pre-expressionist Edvard Munch. Despite his undeniable mastery of his craft, the fame of the artist, who was considered the most important representative of Wilhelminianism, faded as a result. Nevertheless, he was to be honoured with a major retrospective on his 70th birthday in 1913, but this did not take place because the controversial artist did not want the content of the exhibition to be dictated to him. Anton von Werner was ostracised under National Socialism, as his association with the monarchy and the Jewish bourgeoisie was considered sacrilege, and after the war, it was mainly left-wing critics who rejected his ‘chauvinistic’ work.

Anton von Werner died in Berlin on 14th January 1915.