Antique 19th C original pencil drawing by Alfred Richard Diethe 1836-1919 Mermaid

drawings, depicting a Mermaid with suitor, signed, framed

Dimensions aprox.

drawing size 10 x 11.5 inches  or 25 x 28cm

Frame size 13 x 14 inches 

Good antique condition, some signs of age, the edges of the drawing are damaged, the paper is very fragile, please see photos

I have framed the drawing for the safety reason

Alfred Diethe

Alfred Richard Diethe (February 13, 1836 in Dresden; June 3 or June 7, 1919) was a German painter and illustrator.

Diethe was the eighth of nine sons of a master carpenter and attended secondary school in Dresden-Neustadt until he was 15. Originally intended to become a teacher, he studied at the Dresden Art Academy in the 1850s and was a student of Bendemann there (until he was called to Düsseldorf in 1858), and then of Julius Hübner in the subject of history painting. He studied landscape painting with Ludwig Richter. In 1858 he sold his first picture to the Saxon Art Association. His first works in the Hübner studio included the “Annunciation of Mary”, the altarpiece for Dresden-Plauen – a “blessing Christ” and “Christ in Emaus”. After winning the competition organized by the Prof. Herrmanns Foundation in Dresden-Loschwitz with “Theseus and Ariadne”, Diethe worked as a freelancer in Dresden from 1861. A travel scholarship enabled him to stay in Italy from 1864 to 1866, where he worked with, among others, Friedrich Preller the Elder. J. traveled and drew in the Albanian and Sabine mountains. He then worked as a teacher at the Dresden School of Applied Arts; from 1885 at the architecture class at the art academy. Between 1890 and 1901 he was the private tutor of Princess Mathilde of Saxony.

Diethe is considered a representative of the conservative academic direction in Dresden in the second half of the 19th century (especially religious and historical figure paintings). Initially strongly influenced by the Nazarene ideals, his style later became more painterly under the influence of the Düsseldorf school of painting. In this taste he carried out many commissions in Saxon churches.

Since the 1870s he developed the techniques of wall painting, including wax paints, mineral paints and sgraffito, and designed stained glass windows.

Together with Julius Scholtz and Hugo Bürkner, he designed numerous illustrations for the youth magazines “Döchteralbum” and “Herzblättchens Zeitvertreib”.

Between 1856 and 1904 he painted more than 220 portraits, including several of King Albert of Saxony.