Johann August Wilhelm Sohn (29 August 1829, Berlin - 16 March 1899, Pützchen, near Bonn) was a German genre painter and art professor.
Biography
In 1847, he went to Düsseldorf, where he studied with Rudolf Wiegmann, Theodor Hildebrandt, Wilhelm von Schadow and his uncle, Karl Ferdinand Sohn. After that, he supplemented his studies by travelling extensively. In 1861, he married his cousin, Sophie Emilie (Emmy) Sohn, making Karl Ferdinand his uncle and father-in-law.
Christ on the Stormy Waters
In keeping with the spirit of the Düsseldorf school of painting, he began by painting Biblical history scenes; notably "Christ on the Stormy Waters". Several works on religious themes remained unfinished, as he discovered the Dutch Masters and turned to genre painting.
Although Naturalism began to establish itself as an art style following the German revolutions of 1848–49, conservative styles remained in force at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf until Schadow was ousted as Director in 1859. At that time, Sohn became one of the first to teach the new styles, and was named the first Professor of Genre Painting in 1874 (a position he had declined in 1867).
His new duties kept him so busy, he was unable to finish a commission for a monumental painting from the National Gallery, which he worked on intermittently for 30 years. Despite this heavy schedule, he also presided over a popular painting school for women.
In 1885, Emmy had a stroke while they were on an evening walk and died later that day. Not long after, his son fell ill with a brain disorder that eventually left him paralyzed. In 1895, he resigned his Professorship, moved to Pützchen to look after his son, and died there four years later.
Works
Die Konsultation beim Rechtsanwalt, 1866
Die Konsultation beim Rechtsanwalt (Consultation with the Lawyer), 1866, Museum in Leipzig. Wilhelm Wolfsohn writes about this picture in 1866: "In addition to the paintings which I then emphasized, a "Consultation with the Advocate "by Wilhelm Sohn, in the style of the 17th century, attracts the attention. The figures are of great, moving truth: an old lady, who asks for an advocate in an inheritance business, but does not receive the one she wishes. The connection is still uncertain, in which a young girl dressed in black, with a lovely, shamefaced face, sitting in the foreground, is the group of the two ancients. The fine, careful treatment reminds the best Dutch people; If the artist has not yet penetrated to the complete freedom and mastery of technology, the composition, the expression of the faces, the manner of painting reveals an extraordinary talent."
Young woman at window
Notable students
Albert Baur
Agnes Börjesson
Christian Ludwig Bokelmann
Hans Dahl
Ernestine Friedrichsen
Julia Koppers
Paula Monjé
Joseph Scheurenberg
Karl Rudolf Sohn
Frederick Vezin
Hugo Vogel
Sources
"Sohn, Wilhelm". In: Hermann Alexander Müller: Biographisches Künstler-Lexikon. Die bekanntesten Zeitgenossen auf dem Gebiet der bildenden Künste aller Länder mit Angabe ihrer Werke. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1882, pg.496.
Friedrich Schaarschmidt: Geschichte der Düsseldorfer Bildenden Kunst, insbesondere im XIX. Jahrhundert, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, 1902, pgs.247–290]
Wilhelm Sohn. In: Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Vol.31, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1937, pg.217.
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