Clara von Wille

The Lonely Watchdog
The Frog

Clara von Wille, née Clara Maria Alexandra von Böttcher (1838 in Düsseldorf – 15 March 1883, in Düsseldorf) was a German animal painter; associated with the Düsseldorf School.

Life and work

She was the youngest of four daughters born to the Royal Prussian Hussar, Major Carl Friedrich von Böttcher (1785–1857), and his wife Juliane Wilhelmine Charlotte von Buggenhagen (1797–1871). In 1859, she married the landscape and genre painter, August von Wille. Their son, Fritz, also became a well known landscape painter.[1]

She was a private student of Karl Ferdinand Sohn and Ludwig Knaus. Later, she studied with the famous French animal painter, Rosa Bonheur.

Her first exhibited painting was "Resting Hunting Dogs", shown at the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen [de] in 1857.[2] Later, her works were regularly displayed at the Eduard Schulte Galleries [de] and at Bismeyer & Kraus [de]. Several of her works were purchased for a lottery, conducted by the Zentral-Dombau-Verein zu Köln, to raise money for completing the construction of Cologne Cathedral. Many of her most popular paintings were reproduced in illustrated magazines and as wood engravings.

References

  1. ^ Otto Baur: Zwischen Venn und Maaren. Zum fünfzigsten Todestag des Eifelmalers Fritz von Wille Archived 2016-02-28 at the Wayback Machine. In: Heimatjahrbuch Vulkaneifel, 1991, Webseite im Portal "Heimatjahrbuch-Vulkaneifel"
  2. ^ Friedrich Eggers, in: Deutsches Kunstblatt VIII, Nr. 3, 15. Januar 1857, pg.18: "Fräulein von Böttcher trat, wenn wir nicht irren, zum ersten Male mit einem Gemälde an die Öffentlichkeit. Dasselbe stellt ‚ruhende Jagdhunde am Fuße einer Eiche nebst todtem Wild und Jagdgeräth‘ dar. Drei Hirtenhunde und zwei Dachshunde..."

Further reading

  • "Wille, Clara von". In: Friedrich von Boetticher: Malerwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts. Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte. Vol.II-2, Dresden 1901.
  • Alfons W. Biermann, Hubert Meyer: Die rheinische Landschaft im Bild. Die Malerfamilie von Wille. Exhibition catalog, Leopold-Hoesch-Museum, Düren 1976
  • Margot Klütsch: Die Sammlung von Wille im Haus Beda Bitburg. Museum catalog, Bitburg 1992
  • Margot Klütsch: "Wille (geb. von Böttcher, von Boettcher), Clara (Klara) Maria Alexandra von". In: Hans Paffrath (Ed.): Lexikon der Düsseldorfer Malerschule 1819–1918. Vol.3: Nabert–Zwecker, F. Bruckmann, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7654-3011-0, pg.427
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