Theodor Hosemann (1807-1875), Actor Karl Seydelmann In Lansquenet, Around 1840

Theodor Hosemann (1807 Brandenburg - 1875 Berlin), The actor Karl Seydelmann as soldier, around 1840. Watercolor in pencil, 22 cm (height) x 14.7 cm (width), signed “Th.[eodor] Hosemann. f.[ecit]” in pencil lower right.
- Paper somewhat darkened, dusty, with slight traces of creasing and remnants of mounting in upper margin. The image itself in vibrant colors and good condition.




- The expressiveness of a simple pose -


Possibly portraying a character from Friedrich Schiller's "Wallenstein," the actor Karl Seydelmann, armed with musket and sword, gazes into the distance. His body is frontal, with his left arm resting at his side, giving the figure a sense of power emphasized by the weapons and at the same time expressing his determination to face the enemy. The musket held aloft is analogous to a flagpole, and the willingness to fight seems to be motivated by the posture shown. The flaming "signal red" that dramatizes the stance fits in with this.
The expressiveness of the depiction is fed by simple, almost everyday gestures, revealing the 'new realism' that links Seydelmann's play with Hosemann's art. The mastery of Hosemann's expressive realism is concentrated in the 'speaking' physiognomy.



About the artist

Theodor Hosemann worked for the "Lithografische Anstalt Arnz & Winckelmann" in Düsseldorf from 1819 until he was twelve years old. From 1822 to 1828 he also studied at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, where he was a pupil of Wilhelm Schadow from 1826. In 1828, Johann Christian Winckelmann separated from his business partners, the brothers Heinrich and Josef Arnz, and opened the publishing house "Winckelmann & Söhne" in Berlin, specializing in picture and children's books. Theodor Hosemann followed Winckelmann to Berlin as an illustrator for the publisher, where he quickly made a name for himself and also worked for George Gropius' "Bunte Hefte" from 1830. From 1834 to 1852 he worked with the sharp-tongued humorist Adolf Glaßbrenner, who published under the name Adolf Brennglas, and created illustrations for his series "Berlin, wie es ist und - trinkt" (Berlin, as it is and - drinks), "Berliner Volksleben" (Berlin People's Life), and "Komischer Volkskalender" (Comic People's Calendar). From 1842 to 1855 Hosemann was a member of the renowned Berlin literary society "Tunnel über der Spree", where he was known as "[William] Hogarth" for his now mainly humorous illustrations. In 1857 Hosemann was appointed professor at the Berlin Academy, where Heinrich Zille was one of his students in 1874.
Theodor Hosemann's oeuvre includes numerous drawings and about 6000 graphic works. He also worked as a painter. His most important book illustrations include the writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann, the fairy tales of Hans-Christian Andersen, and the adventures of Baron Münchhausen.


"Pre-march Berlin found in him its most faithful chronicler and illustrator; and if he had not created more than his pictures of Berlin folk life, his memory could not be extinguished, and anyone who wants to understand the history of our city in those years must also have Hosemann's depictions at hand - the best pictorial chronicle of those years!”

Publications of the Society for the History of Berlin, September 1897