The First Confession by Hermann von Kaulbach is located at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California (Figure 1). The Crocker Art Museum was originally built by the Crocker family in 1872. Ironically, the museum was built during the lifetime of Hermann Kaulbach. The Crocker is a California Historical Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It houses over fifteen thousand items including American Art, European Art, Photography and Ceramics. In 2010 a new pavilion was added to the Crocker which tripled the size of the museum (Crockerartmuseum.org).
Hermann von Kaulback was born on July 26th, 1846 in Munich, Germany. Hermann was the son of Wilhelm von Kaulbach, an established artist himself who painted numerous …show more content…
At the Crocker Art Museum, it hung in a gallery filled with European Art. The room had sky-blue walls with dark wood paneling on the bottom thirty inches of the wall. The carpet was a dark tan color and there was direct lighting coming from the ceiling illuminating each painting. The First Confession was placed between two other paintings of similar size and style. To the right was The Morning Greeting (undated) by Franz Schmid-Breitenbach (1857-1927). To the left was the Allegory of Painting (1648) by Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst (1590-1656). The First Confession is a larger painting approximately three feet wide by five feet high and was painted with oil on canvas. The paint strokes were smooth with sharp lines, unlike the work of Impressionist …show more content…
There are a couple men in the painting but we don’t know if the well-dressed man is a family member or a servant. Since he has his hand on the back of one of the children I have to believe it’s most likely her father. But he stands in shaded background without any recognition as a leader in the household. The other man is not dressed well and stands informally off to the side as if he’s waiting for his turn to make his confession. He looks like he may be a ranch-hand or a tradesman.
The mood of the painting is a blend of solemnity and humor. The matriarch, her children and older grandchildren are there to do their duty as good Catholics and good Christians. The younger children are going through the motions but they are still children and they are not connecting with the solemnity of the occasion. Looking at this painting makes me feel like this is something they do every Sunday and soon they will be back home enjoying a big Sunday family lunch
Hermann von Kaulback was born on July 26th, 1846 in Munich, Germany. Hermann was the son of Wilhelm von Kaulbach, an established artist himself who painted numerous …show more content…
At the Crocker Art Museum, it hung in a gallery filled with European Art. The room had sky-blue walls with dark wood paneling on the bottom thirty inches of the wall. The carpet was a dark tan color and there was direct lighting coming from the ceiling illuminating each painting. The First Confession was placed between two other paintings of similar size and style. To the right was The Morning Greeting (undated) by Franz Schmid-Breitenbach (1857-1927). To the left was the Allegory of Painting (1648) by Dutch artist Gerrit van Honthorst (1590-1656). The First Confession is a larger painting approximately three feet wide by five feet high and was painted with oil on canvas. The paint strokes were smooth with sharp lines, unlike the work of Impressionist …show more content…
There are a couple men in the painting but we don’t know if the well-dressed man is a family member or a servant. Since he has his hand on the back of one of the children I have to believe it’s most likely her father. But he stands in shaded background without any recognition as a leader in the household. The other man is not dressed well and stands informally off to the side as if he’s waiting for his turn to make his confession. He looks like he may be a ranch-hand or a tradesman.
The mood of the painting is a blend of solemnity and humor. The matriarch, her children and older grandchildren are there to do their duty as good Catholics and good Christians. The younger children are going through the motions but they are still children and they are not connecting with the solemnity of the occasion. Looking at this painting makes me feel like this is something they do every Sunday and soon they will be back home enjoying a big Sunday family lunch