Who is Johann Heinrich Hofmann?
Johann Michael Ferdinand Heinrich Hofmann was born on March 19, 1824, in Darmstadt, Germany. He was the eldest son of Heinrich Karl Hofmann, an advocate of the High Court of Justice, and his wife Sophie. Heinrich and his four brothers grew up in a household that was very much devoted to art. …
What happened to the Hofmann painting Christ in Gethsemane?
Like many of Hofmann’s religious paintings, Christ in Gethsemane soon found a home in an American collection. Purchased by John Zeile, so treasured was the picture that it was the only object saved from the collector’s home when it was destroyed in the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906.
What is the image of Hofmann?
The image of Hofmann I garnered from his unpublished letters and diaries is of an intensely religious man. Before he painted any scene from the life of Christ he deeply studied the Gospel. Often he would copy out in his own hand a whole passage from the Bible that inspired him.
What does Hofmann say about “Christ in the temple”?
In another very interesting letter about “Christ in the Temple” (page 190 in The Second Coming of Christ) Hofmann writes: “Referring to your kind request I would like to note down a few comments on the figures in the painting ‘Christ in the Temple.’