Johann Adolf Rettelbusch was a German painter. He was nicknamed the Brockenmaler, after Brocken, a peak in the Harz mountains, which became a major focus of his work after a trip he took there in 1888.
Life
He was the eighth child born to a family of innkeepers. After attending the local schools, he went to the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School in 1878. Theodor Hagen and Alexander Struys were among his teachers. After trying several styles, he decided to devote himself to landscape painting. Before graduating, however, he had to quit school for financial reasons. In 1880 and 1881, he took lessons to pass the drawing teacher exams with Karl Gussow at the Prussian Academy of Arts. Despite this, he remained unemployed. Returning to Kammerforst, he supported himself with an occasional odd job. In 1883, he was able to study at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin, thanks to a generous stipend from and Ernst Ewald. He acquired skills in landscape, portrait and decorative painting, receiving several awards. In 1886 and 1887, he took a study trip to Italy. The drawings and watercolors he made there led to a job offer from the Prussian Ministry of Trade and Industry, teaching decorative painting at the new arts and crafts school in Magdeburg. He began work in 1887 and later became vice-rector, under the engineer. By 1892, he was Acting Manager of the school. In 1906, he was appointed a Professor and remained there until his retirement in 1924. He was also involved in the cultural life of Magdeburg. In 1893, he founded the Artists' Association of St.Luke and was its President for many years. Nine years later, he founded the Artists' Association of Börde. He was an active member of the Masonic Lodge. A street in Magdeburg is named after him.
Work
Although he is primarily known as a landscape painter, his over 4,000 canvases dealt in a wide variety of subjects, including the First World War and the Krupp-Gruson armaments factory. Every year, he produced a series of Brocken-related postcards. Hundreds of his works are in private collections and many were destroyed in World War II, but a large selection may be seen at the Magdeburg Cultural History Museum and the Rennstieg-Hotel in Kammerforst, which is still operated by the Rettelbusch family.
