Franz von Stuck

Born in 1863 in Tettenweis in Lower Bavaria as the son of a miller, the boy attended the Realschule in Passau from 1873. After graduating from school (1878), he first studied for three years at the Munich School of Applied Arts as a pupil of Ferdinand Barth. This was followed by lessons at the Munich academy under Wilhelm Lindenschmit and Ludwig Löfftz; at the same time he made illustrations, humorous drawings and designs for arts and crafts. Already highly regarded as a draughtsman, he worked in oils for the first time in 1887 and won a gold medal at the Munich Annual Exhibition in 1889 for the painting Guardians of Paradise, which he subsequently sold to Holland for 60,000 gold marks. In 1893, his painting “Sin” caused a great stir at the Munich Secession exhibition; Stuck had co-founded the artists’ association a year earlier. Not only his Symbolist compositions, but also his portraits, now produced in large numbers, enjoyed great and sustained demand at home and abroad. Two years later, the artist was appointed to the Academy as Lindenschmit’s successor. From 1897 to 1898, the Villa Stuck was planned and built according to the artist’s designs. As a total work of art – Stuck also designed the furnishings – it remains a monument to the Prince of Painting to this day; the furniture was honoured with a gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900. At the end of 1905, Stuck was awarded the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown and personal nobility. Franz von Stuck died in 1928 and was buried in the Waldfriedhof in Munich.