Mignon

Gabriel von Max prints are full of mystery: pale dreaming women, visionaries in trance and, most famously, monkeys who seem almost human. Von Max was a Prague-born painter of the Munich school and a professor at the Munich Academy, fascinated by spiritualism, science and evolution. This collection gathers art prints of his ethereal portraits of women, religious and mystical scenes, and his celebrated, witty pictures of monkeys.

About Gabriel von Max

Gabriel Cornelius Max was born in Prague on 23 August 1840 into a Bohemian family of sculptors, and his father Josef gave him his first training. He studied at the Prague Academy from 1855 to 1858, then at the Vienna Academy, and from 1863 to 1867 at the Munich Academy under Karl von Piloty, where he shared a studio with Hans Makart and met Franz Defregger and Franz von Lenbach.

His first big success came in 1867 with Martyr on the Cross, which turned Piloty's dark palette toward mystical, psychological religious painting. In 1873 he married Emma Kitzing; their sons Cornelius and Columbus also became painters. He later became professor of history painting at the Munich Academy.

Von Max was deeply interested in spiritualism, hypnotism, Darwinism and Asian philosophy, and he built a huge natural history collection of 60,000 to 80,000 objects, now in the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim. He kept monkeys at home and used them as models. Ennobled in 1900, he spent his later years mainly at Lake Starnberg, and died in Munich on 24 November 1915.

Style and Subjects

Von Max's paintings are hushed and ethereal. His women, often seen in profile or with lowered eyes, emerge softly from dark or misty backgrounds, painted in muted, pale colors. Many show suffering saints, visionaries and figures in trance, such as the Seeress of Prevorst.

His interest in science shows in pictures like The Anatomist, and his monkey paintings are both funny and thought-provoking. In Monkeys as Judges of Art, a row of apes solemnly inspects a painting, poking fun at art critics while hinting at Darwin's ideas about humans and apes.

Famous Works

• Christian Martyr on the Cross (St Julia) (1865), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. A version of the subject that first made his name.
• The Anatomist (1869). A scientist lifts a sheet from a young woman's body, thinking rather than cutting.
• A Spring Fairy Tale (1872), Belvedere, Vienna. A delicate, dreamy figure in a spring landscape.
• Monkey with Violets (1880), National Museum in Warsaw. A small monkey with a bouquet of flowers.
• Monkeys as Judges of Art (1889), Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich. A row of monkeys critically examining a painting.
• The Seeress of Prevorst (1892), National Gallery Prague. A famous visionary in a trance, painted with ghostly delicacy.

Decorating with Max Prints

Von Max's monkey pictures are full of personality and humor, and they work wonderfully in a study, library or living room, or as a talking point in a hallway. Monkeys as Judges of Art is a natural choice for an art lover's home.

His soft, pale portraits of women suit a bedroom or reading corner with muted colors and soft light, and his mystical subjects add atmosphere to a dark-walled room with antique frames.

FAQ

What art movement was Gabriel von Max part of?

Von Max belonged to the Munich school and trained under Karl von Piloty. His mystical, allegorical style is often linked with Symbolism.

What is Gabriel von Max's most famous painting?

Monkeys as Judges of Art (1889), in the Bavarian State Painting Collections, is his best-known work. The Seeress of Prevorst and The Anatomist are also famous.

Why did Gabriel von Max paint so many monkeys?

He kept monkeys at home, studied them closely and used them as models, often working from photographs. They reflected his interest in Darwin's theory of evolution and allowed him to comment playfully on human behavior.

Where can I see von Max's original paintings?

His work is in the Bavarian State Painting Collections in Munich, the National Gallery Prague, the Belvedere in Vienna, the Hermitage and the National Museum in Warsaw. His natural history collection is in Mannheim.

How can you recognize a Gabriel von Max painting?

Look for pale, quiet women with downcast eyes, soft misty backgrounds and a mood of dream or trance, or for monkeys shown with surprising human expression.

Related Artists

• Hans Makart — shared a studio with him in Piloty's class in Munich
• Franz von Defregger — fellow student of Piloty in Munich
• Franz von Lenbach — Munich painter he met as a student
• Karl Theodor von Piloty — his teacher at the Munich Academy
• Arnold Böcklin — fellow painter of dreamlike, symbolic subjects