München von der Mittagseite.

Title

München von der Mittagseite.

Description

A very beautiful, detailed view shows Munich from the Gasteig with a view across the Isar to the old town. In the foreground are many figurative staffages. After the original drawing by Gustav Kraus, printed by I. B. Dreseli.

ca. 1835

Artist

Kraus (1804-1852)

Gustav Kraus (1804–1852) was a Bavarian lithography artist of the Biedermeier period. He fully devoted himself to the then-new lithography technique, seeing himself less as an artist and more as a commercial graphic designer. Successful in business, he bought a house in Munich’s Schellingstraße in 1836 and founded his own publishing company there. Known as the “visual reporter of the Biedermeier era” (Eugen Roth) from 1825 to 1850, Kraus published numerous large-format lithographs, often based on Heinrich Adam’s designs, as well as his own drawings and watercolors of southern Germany, especially Munich. He also produced city and architectural views, event scenes (such as military maneuvers, parades, processions, and inaugurations), portraits of nobility and court, and depictions of costumes and uniforms. His combination of topographical accuracy and artistic quality was unique for his time.

Historical Description

Munich- Munchen, the name of the city is derived from the Old/Middle High German term Munichen, meaning "by the monks". It derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who ran a monastery at the place that was later to become the Old Town of Munich; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat of arms. Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes. Black and gold — the colours of the Holy Roman Empire — have been the city's official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence. Following a final reunification of the Wittelsbachian Duchy of Bavaria, previously divided and sub-divided for more than 200 years, the town became the country's sole capital in 1506. Catholic Munich was a cultural stronghold of the Counter-Reformation and a political point of divergence during the resulting Thirty Years' War, but remained physically untouched despite an occupation by the Protestant Swedes; as the townsfolk would rather open the gates of their town than risk siege and almost inevitable destruction. Like wide parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the area recovered slowly economically. Having evolved from a duchy's capital into that of an electorate (1623), and later a sovereign kingdom (1806), Munich has been a centre of arts, culture and science since the early 19th century.