On the Sofa

Wilhelm Trübner prints bring the fresh, direct painting of nineteenth-century Germany into your home. A member of the circle around Wilhelm Leibl in Munich, Trübner painted frank portraits, quiet interiors and, later, sunlit lakes, parks and castle gardens in Bavaria, the Odenwald and around Heidelberg. Our collection has 75 of his paintings and studies as fine art prints, from On the Sofa to the shores of Lake Starnberg.

About Wilhelm Trübner

Wilhelm Trübner was born in Heidelberg on 3 February 1851 and first trained as a goldsmith, expecting to take over his father's workshop. In 1867 the painter Anselm Feuerbach encouraged him to paint instead. He studied at the art school in Karlsruhe and then at the Munich Academy, with a short spell in Stuttgart, and in 1869 he was deeply impressed by Gustave Courbet's paintings at the International Art Exhibition in Munich.

In the early 1870s he joined the group of young painters around Wilhelm Leibl, with Carl Schuch, Albert Lang and Hans Thoma, and painted landscapes with them around Lake Starnberg. He traveled to Italy, Holland, Belgium and Paris, where he saw the work of Édouard Manet. The years from about 1872 to 1876 are often seen as his finest.

After 1877 he painted more historical, mythological and literary subjects, then returned to landscape after an 1889 exhibition in Berlin. In 1895 he moved to Frankfurt to teach at the Städel art school, and he joined the Berlin Secession in 1901. From 1903 he was a professor at the Karlsruhe Academy, serving as its director from 1904 to 1910. He died in Karlsruhe on 21 December 1917.

Style and Subjects

Trübner's early pictures are Realist: sober colors, solid forms and broad, confident brushwork, often painted in one go in the manner he admired in Courbet. He believed the beauty of a picture lay in the painting itself rather than its story, so even simple subjects, a woman on a sofa, a dog, a carpenter at work, are treated with great care.

In his later years his palette grew lighter and brighter, close to German Impressionism. He painted series of the same places, such as Frauenchiemsee on Lake Chiemsee, Stift Neuburg near Heidelberg, Amorbach and Lake Starnberg, in fresh greens and blues. Our collection also includes many portraits, nude studies and drawings.

Famous Works

• On the Sofa (1872). A young woman seated on a sofa, from his best early years.
• Christ in the Tomb (1874), Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. A stark, Realist treatment of the dead Christ.
• Beech Forest with Lovers (1876), Belvedere, Vienna. A couple in a shady beech wood.
• Lady in Gray (1876), Museum Folkwang, Essen. A portrait in muted grays, typical of his early style.
• Hemsbach Castle (1906), Augustinermuseum, Freiburg. A later landscape in bright, open color.
• Viewpoint on Lake Starnberg (1911). A late view over the Bavarian lake where he had painted as a young man.

Decorating with Trübner Prints

Trübner's late landscapes, the lakes, parks and castle gardens of Bavaria and the Odenwald, are fresh and green, a good fit for living rooms, home offices and hallways. Views such as Frauenchiemsee or the Stift Neuburg gardens near Heidelberg also make a meaningful gift for anyone with ties to southern Germany.

His portraits and interiors suit a study, library or dining room with a traditional feel, and his pencil studies, including sketches of a Great Dane named Cäsar, are a charming choice for a small wall or a gallery grouping.

Frequently Asked Questions

What art movement was Wilhelm Trübner part of?

Trübner was a German Realist and a member of the Leibl circle in Munich in the 1870s. His later, brighter landscapes are often grouped with German Impressionism.

What was the Leibl circle?

It was a loose group of young painters in Munich around Wilhelm Leibl in the 1870s, including Trübner, Carl Schuch, Albert Lang and Hans Thoma. They favored direct, honest painting of everyday subjects over academic history painting.

Where did Wilhelm Trübner paint his landscapes?

He painted around Lake Starnberg and Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria, at Stift Neuburg near his home town of Heidelberg, in the Odenwald, and at castles and parks such as Hemsbach and Amorbach.

Where can I see Wilhelm Trübner's original paintings?

His work is mostly in German and Austrian museums, including the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, the Museum Folkwang in Essen and the Belvedere in Vienna.

Who influenced Wilhelm Trübner?

Gustave Courbet's paintings, which he saw in Munich in 1869, made a deep impression on him, as did Wilhelm Leibl and, after a visit to Paris, Édouard Manet.

Related Artists

• Wilhelm Leibl, leader of the Munich circle Trübner belonged to
• Hans Thoma, a fellow member of the Leibl circle
• Carl Schuch, who painted landscapes with Trübner around Lake Starnberg
• Gustave Courbet, the French Realist whose work inspired him in 1869
• Édouard Manet, whose work he saw in Paris in the early 1870s