Studien von drei Mädchen und einem Kind

Jakob Becker prints bring the countryside of nineteenth-century Germany into your home: farm girls, harvesters, praying peasants, village smiths, old trees and evening fields. Becker was a German genre painter of the Düsseldorf school and the first professor of genre and landscape painting at the Städel in Frankfurt. Our collection of fine art prints includes many of his drawings and studies of rural life.

About Jakob Becker

Jakob Becker was born on 15 March 1810 in Dittelsheim near Worms, the son of an innkeeper. He trained with the painter Carl Nikolaus Jung in Worms, then worked as a lithographer in Frankfurt, where with his friend Jakob Fürchtegott Dielmann he drew a panorama of the Rhine from Mainz to Cologne.

In 1833 a lithographic firm sent him to Düsseldorf, and he stayed to study at the Düsseldorf Academy until 1841 under Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and Wilhelm von Schadow. His painting of country people frightened by a storm (1840) was a great success and led to his appointment in 1842 as professor of genre and landscape painting at the Städel in Frankfurt.

Becker taught at the Städel for thirty years. His pupils included Anton Burger, Wilhelm Amandus Beer and others who later formed the Kronberg painters' colony. In 1858 he shared his studio with Gustave Courbet and took on some of his influence. He died in Frankfurt on 22 December 1872.

Style and Subjects

Becker broke with the lofty Bible and history scenes that ruled the Städel and painted ordinary rural people instead. His pictures tell stories: a family at prayer, a soldier leaving home, a shepherd struck by lightning, poachers on the run. He used realistic detail and expressive gestures, and was interested in the hard lives of peasants.

His drawings, which make up much of our collection, are quieter: studies of farm girls, children, harvesters, horses and old trees, drawn with a firm, clear line.

Famous Works

• Country People Frightened by a Storm (1840), Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. The success that won him his Frankfurt professorship.
• Shepherd Struck by Lightning (1844), Städel Museum, Frankfurt. A dramatic rural tragedy.
• The Praying Peasant Family. One of his best-known paintings.
• The Poor Family (1848), Historisches Museum, Frankfurt. A study of rural poverty.
• The Village Fire (1853), Museum Wiesbaden. A village disaster painted with strong feeling.
• Kneeling, praying farmer. A drawing of a single figure in prayer.
• Feierliche Heimkehr vom Feld (Solemn Return from the Field). Harvesters coming home at the end of the day.

Decorating with Becker Prints

Becker's drawings of farm girls, children and trees suit a cottage-style kitchen, bedroom or hallway. Their soft lines look best in simple oak or pale wood frames with a wide cream mat, hung in small groups.

His harvest and village scenes bring warmth to a dining room or study with country furniture, and a single tree study makes a calm accent in a bathroom or reading corner.

FAQ

Who was Jakob Becker?

Jakob Becker (1810–1872) was a German genre painter, etcher and lithographer, known for his scenes of peasant life. He was a professor at the Städel in Frankfurt for thirty years.

What art movement was he part of?

He belonged to the Düsseldorf school of painting, where he trained under Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and Wilhelm von Schadow.

What did Becker paint?

Mostly the countryside and its people: harvests, prayer, departures and homecomings, storms and rural hardship, along with portraits and landscapes.

Did he know Gustave Courbet?

Yes. In 1858 Becker shared his Frankfurt studio with Courbet and adopted some of his style, despite some rudeness from the French painter.

Who were his students?

His pupils at the Städel included Anton Burger, Wilhelm Amandus Beer, Heinrich Winter and Johannes Deiker, several of whom later joined the Kronberg painters' colony.

Related Artists

• Johann Wilhelm Schirmer: his teacher at the Düsseldorf Academy
• Anton Burger: his student, later of the Kronberg colony
• Wilhelm Amandus Beer: his student at the Städel
• Gustave Courbet: French realist who shared his studio in 1858