Hermann Lindenschmit

Hermann Lindenschmit (Karl Heinrich Hermann Lindenschmit) was born in Frankfurt am Main on September 13, 1857 and died in Munich on October 8, 1939. He was a renowned German painter and came from a distinguished family of artists from Mainz. His great-grandfather, Johann Lindenschmit (1771-1845), was a well-known draughtsman, engraver and coin engraver, while his grandfather, Wilhelm Lindenschmit the Elder, and his father, Wilhelm Lindenschmit the Younger, were also active as painters.

After Hermann Lindenschmit moved to Munich in 1863, he was educated at the Wilhelmsgymnasium and later at the Maximiliansgymnasium. He showed a talent for art at an early age, which prompted him to join the antique class at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1875. There he studied under renowned artists such as Alexander Strähuber and Ludwig Löfftz as well as in the composing class of his father, Wilhelm Lindenschmit the Younger. His artistic training was complemented by study visits to Italy, Tyrol, South Tyrol and the Bavarian mountains.

Hermann Lindenschmit was known above all for his depictions of figural scenes and individual characters from rural life, which he created inspired by the circle of artists around Franz von Defregger. He was a member of the Munich Artists’ Cooperative and the Artists’ Group 48. Lindenschmit first took part in the Munich annual exhibition at the Glaspalast in 1883 and regularly participated in the exhibitions with paintings, watercolors and drawings until 1930. His works were also presented in other German cities and internationally, including Bremen, Berlin and Munich.

For his outstanding achievements, Hermann Lindenschmit was awarded the Golden Medal at the International Art Exhibition in Munich in 1913. Some of his works, such as the charcoal drawing “The Narrative”, were also acquired by high-ranking personalities such as Joseph Goebbels and presented in important exhibitions such as the “Great German Art Exhibition” in Munich’s Haus der Kunst.