Adolph von Menzel

Adolph von Menzel (1815-1905) stands as one of Germany's most significant 19th-century artists, a keen observer who documented the rise of industrial Prussia with unprecedented detail and honesty. Born in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), Menzel largely taught himself to draw and paint after his father's death forced him to take over the family lithography business at age sixteen. This early immersion in printmaking would prove foundational to his meticulous approach to composi…