The New International Encyclopædia/Retzsch, Moritz

RETZSCH, rĕch, Moritz (1779-1857). A German painter and engraver. He was born in Dresden, December 9, 1779, and studied at the academy of his native city, where he became a professor in 1824, and died July 11, 1857. Although treating romantic subjects, he belongs to the followers of Mengs. His chief celebrity rests upon his illustrations in outline of the great German poets, Schiller, Goethe, etc., whom he interpreted with great vigor and sympathy. His etchings of Goethe's Faust (26 plates, 1884) are particularly well known, not only in his own country, but also in France and England. Among other important works are the outline illustrations of Schiller's Lied von der Glocke (43 plates, 1884); his Shakespeare Gallery (80 plates, 1860); and his outline drawings of Bürger's Ballads (15 plates, 1872). His oil paintings, treating classical subjects, are of little interest, but he succeeded better with portraits.