1829 -1910 · Wiesbaden, Düsseldorf, Paris and Berlin

Childhood, travel, conversation and portraiture become Ludwig Knaus's warm and precise chronicle of 19th century German society.

Ludwig Knaus was born in Wiesbaden in 1829 and entered the Düsseldorf Academy in 1845, where he studied with Karl Ferdinand Sohn and in the environment of Wilhelm von Schadow. Very early on, he preferred to great historical stories the observation of people, villages and daily situations. His stays in Willingshausen oriented him towards rural life in Hesse, where he represented festivals, families, children and travelers without renouncing a scholarly construction. In Paris, where he worked in the 1850s and frequented the workshop of Thomas Couture, his palette and his sense of the stage gained flexibility. In Paris, where he worked in the 1850s and frequented the workshop of Thomas Couture, his palette and his sense of the stage gained flexibility. In Paris, where he worked in the 1850s and frequented the workshop of Thomas Couture, his palette and his sense of the stage gained flexibility. In Paris, where he worked in the 1850s and frequented the workshop of Thomas Couture, his palette and his sense of the stage gained flexibility. In Paris, where he worked in the 1850s and frequented the workshop of Thomas Couture, his palette and his sense of the attentive to a princely journey. The Promenade transforms a social encounter into a study of gestures, costumes and looks. His portraits, like The Banker Itzinger, combine resemblance, status and psychological presence. Based in Berlin and professor at the Academy, Knaus became one of the most famous German genre painters of his time. Died in 1910, he left an abundant body of work that links the Düsseldorf school to European narrative realism. Died in 1910, he left behind an abundant body of work that links the Düsseldorf school to European narrative realism. Died in 1910, he left behind an abundant body of work that links the Düsseldorf school to European narrative realism. Died in 1910, he left behind an abundant body of work that links the Düsseldorf school to European narrative realism. Died in 1910, he left behind an abundant body of work that links the Düsseldorf school to European narrative realism. Died in 1910, he left behind an abundant body of work that links the Düsseldorf school to European narrative realism. Died in 1910, he left behind an abundant body of work that links the Düsse

Knaus observes society as a living scene: a sideways glance, a child or a costume is enough to reveal an entire environment.