Leo von König

Leo Freiherr von König was a German painter and member of the Berlin Secession, one of its most important members along with Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth (1858-1925) and Max Slevogt. Von König portrayed colleagues and other important personalities, including Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945). Von König first studied sculpture in Hamburg, then drawing and painting in Berlin at the Art Academy, and later at the Académie Julian in Paris from 1894-97.

For the next two years, he lived in various places in Germany and travelled extensively to Russia, London, and Brittany. In 1900, von König settled as a freelance artist in Berlin and started teaching at his painting school, beginning in 1907. In 1908 he took up travelling again, mostly to the Mediterranean countries. In 1940, he moved to Tutzing, Bavaria, where he eventually died. He was married to French paintress Mathilde Tardif (1872-1929) and, after their divorce in 1920, married his student Anna von Hansemann (1897-1992). His daughter Esther (1923-2014) was a student of Gerhard Marcks and became an expert on Egyptian art.

In 1936, von König could only participate “out of competition”, because, at the same time, he was a member of the jury for painting. His mother was born Freiin von Cramm, a great aunt of the famous tennis player Gottfried von Cramm, 1935-37 three times Wimbledon finalist. The oil painting with his portrait was to be exhibited in 1937 in the Great German Art Exhibition in the House of German Art in München. However, it was one of the paintings that Hitler sorted out during a tour before the opening. The painting was temporarily exhibited in the Alte Pinakothek in München and was returned to the family by order of the Nazi leadership after von Cramm’s release from prison in 1938, He had been sentenced to one year in prison for homosexual acts but was released early.