Eduard von Grützner : Master of the Laugh Below the Surface

Eduard von Grützner was a German painter best known for his genre scenes of the theater and of satisfied monks consuming beer or wine. Among his best-known works are his vivid portrayals of William Shakespeare's character Falstaff from his play Henry V. Grützner's works are detailed in their rendering, portraying both a sense of humor and sentiment similar to his contemporary Carl Spitzweig. Born on May 26, 1846, in Groß-Karlowitz, Prussia (now Poland), he went on to attend the private painting academy of Herman Dyck in Munich and transferred to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich shortly thereafter, where he studied under Karl Theodor von Piloty. Grützner went on to have great success in Munich and was knighted in 1916. Today, his works are in the collections of the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, among others. Grützner died April 2, 1925, in Munich, Germany. His merry monastic images enjoy the greatest popularity to this day.