Adolph Menzel, 1815-1905

Book excerpt: Famous across Europe and America, recipient of the highest possible honours in Germany including the order of the Black Eagle and elevation to nobility, admired by Degas as 'the greatest living master', Adolph Menzel was perhaps the greatest German painter of the late nineteenth century. In this splendidly illustrated book - the only comprehensive volume on Menzel in English - photographs of the artist and contemporary Berlin accompany reproductions of hundreds of his paintings and drawings. Menzel specialists and art historians contribute chapters on his life and art, his visits to France, his critical reception, relevant social and historical background, and different approaches to his work. Until recently, Menzel's many paintings and drawings were separated from one another in collections on either side of the Berlin Wall. Now, in the wake of reunification, the Berlin Museums have put together the most extensive Menzel exhibit since the retrospective that followed his death in 1905. This book is the catalogue for the exhibit that had its debut at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris (April 15 to July 28), travels to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (September 15, 1996 to January 5, 1997) and returns to Nationalgalerie in Berlin (February 7 to May 11, 1997).