BÜRKEL, HEINRICH

Pirmasens 1802–1869 Munich

Having moved to Munich in 1822, Heinrich Bürkel was guided primarily by the examples of Dutch painting that he saw in the museums, rather than by the tradition of the Munich Academy. As a student at the Munich Academy of Art, from very early on Bürkel specialised in the depiction of genre landscapes, which he tended to bathe in a glistening light by using bright colour combinations. Impressed by what he saw on his several visits to Italy (1827, 1830/32, 1838 and 1853) he increasingly turned to the depiction of peasant scenes ensconced in a rural setting.
From 1850, inspired by Carl Spitzweg (1808–1885), Bürkel turned increasingly to the depiction of travelling folk, beggars, bandits and monks within their local settings. Bürkel was an excellent draughtsman and several times Spitzweg asked him for preparatory drawings of figures in typical activities. In general, in Bürkel's late work, figures play an increasingly central role, so that the action takes precedence over the depiction of nature.
Bürkel's unmistakable style – which would continue to attract considerable attention in academy circles from the mid-1850s onwards – is what set his paintings apart and made him an internationally sought-after artist even during his lifetime.

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Works by this artist from our auctions

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