The Nibelungen's End - The Death of Kriemhild
Medium
Graphite and brush and brown washes on tan laid paper, with added strip of tan wove paper at top (restoration), laid down on brown wove paper
Dimensions
Primary support: 50.4 × 63.8 cm (19 7/8 × 25 1/8 in.); Secondary support: 62 × 68.5 cm (24 7/16 × 27 in.)
Classification
graphite
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
149580
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld’s Nibelungen’s End—the Death of Kriemhild is one of several studies for an extensive fresco cycle for King Ludwig I of Bavaria’s Royal Palace in Munich. Ludwig’s prominent commission had a nationalistic bent and revived medieval German historical literature. The medieval Nibelungen poem centered on a female character, in this case the powerfully vengeful Kriemhild, and was adapted into an opera. Indeed, Richard Wagner started his Ring Cycle in 1848, three years afte...
Art Historical Context
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld’s 1845 drawing captures the dramatic climax of the medieval German epic, the Nibelungenlied. The scene shows the vengeful queen Kriemhild meeting her end amid the ruins of a once-great court, rendered with careful graphite lines and rich brown washes that heighten the emotional intensity. The large sheet, measuring roughly 20 by 25 inches, invites viewers to linger over the tangled figures and architectural details that convey both grandeur and catastrophe. Created during a period of renewed interest in national legends, the work reflects 19th-century fascination with Germany’s mythic past. Schnorr’s choice of drawing media—graphite combined with brush and wash—allowed him to explore light, shadow, and texture with great subtlety, making the composition feel both intimate and monumental. Now preserved in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection of prints and drawings, the sheet bears evidence of careful restoration, underscoring its enduring value as a vivid window onto an ancient tale of loyalty, betrayal, and fate.
About the Artist
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld · 1794–1872
German, Leipzig 1794–1872 Dresden