The melancholy

The emotional state of melancholy, i.e. sadness or melancholy, has fascinated the visual arts since ancient times.

The personification is usually depicted with the head supported by the hand. Lindenschmit changes this gesture and shows the grief solely through the lowered head and facial expression.

In the 20th century in particular, melancholy, with the gesture of the pensively propped-up head, was painted again and again to express the emotion of deep sadness. Whether by Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso or Max Beckmann, for example.

Our collection includes, for example, a nude by Hans Purrmann, who is leaning her head up in melancholy.

A famous Mainz family

The painter of this painting comes from the most important family of artists in Mainz, the Lindenschmits.

Wilhelm Lindenschmit der Ältere studied painting at the renowned academies of his time in Munich and Vienna. Wilhelm Lindenschmit subsequently worked on many large murals (frescoes) in the Bavarian capital, including in the arcades of the Hofgarten and in Hohenschwangau Palace. He died very young, at the age of just 42.

His brother Ludwig was not only an artist, but also a very important archaeologist. Ludwig Lindenschmit co-founded the Mainz Antiquities Society in 1841 and initiated the founding of the "Roman-Germanic Central Museum" in Mainz (today's LEIZA). He is its first director.

Wilhelm der Jüngere also followed in the footsteps of his father and uncle. He received his first drawing lessons from his uncle Ludwig in Mainz and later became an important history painter. There are also works by him in our collection.