Fritz van Uhde

1848 – 1911

Friedrich Hermann Karl Fritz von Uhde, German painter. He came from a family of civil servants with artistic interests. In 1866 he briefly attended the Hochschule der Bildende Künste in Dresden, but he was bored by the teaching and in 1867 he joined the army. In 1877, despite being an officer, he took leave of absence, having decided after all to be an artist. He was determined to succeed rapidly in order to justify his late start and almost to the end of his life, therefore, his work revealed a tension between innovation and conformity. Von Uhde left the army in 1878 and focused on painting. He studied the works of old masters in Munich and Paris. The Dutch old masters were his favourites, and in 1882 he made a journey to the Netherlands. After that trip he abandoned the dark chiaroscuro in favour of lighter colours. Starting in 1884 Von Uhde also painted biblical subjects. 78 of his 285 works have religious subjects. His style was somewhere between naturalist and impressionist. Von Uhde was married and had three daughters.

View all works →