Ludwig Emil Grimm
(1790–1863)

Ludwig Emil Grimm, Zwei Mulatten, Studienköpfe (Two Mulattoes, Studies of Heads), 1815, graphite on paper (left), Zigeunerleben (Gypsy Life), 1840, etching (center), Drei feilschende Juden (Three Haggling Jews), 1820, ink on paper (right), Grimm-Sammlung der Stadt Kassel, installation view, Neue Galerie, Kassel, documenta 14, photo: Mathias Völzke

Much lesser known than his folktale-gathering, dictionary-drafting brothers Jacob and Wilhelm, Ludwig Emil Grimm deserves greater recognition for his work as a draughtsman, engraver, and painter. A founding member of the Willingshausen artist colony, Grimm became a professor at the art academy, today’s Kunsthochschule Kassel, in the early 1830s. It was during this time that he made some of his most characteristic works, which are evidence of his encounters with various “others” in northern Hessen, from “haggling Jews” to “two mulattos,” a “gypsy family,” and, most intriguingly, a scene depicting a young woman in western dress caged and put on display in front of a group of “natives.”

Posted in Public Exhibition