Introduction
Ernst Wilhelm Hildebrand (8 March 1833, Falkenberg, Heideblick - 17 November 1924, Berlin) was a German painter. Many art websites mistakenly identify him as "Swiss".
Life
He was the son of a landowner who later became the station master of Sorau. He was a student of Carl Steffeck in Berlin where, after a year spent on a study trip to Paris, he would decide to live. In 1875, he became a Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe. From there, he moved to the Prussian Academy of Arts in 1880. He retired from teaching in 1885.
Initially, he focused on decorative painting, but soon turned to genre scenes, featuring Martin Luther and Queen Louise. In the 1890s, he once again switched styles, this time to portrait painting. He made himself welcome at court, where he produced canvases of the Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden and the Crown prince Friedrich III. He also painted several portraits of University professors (including Arthur Auwers and Karl Möbius). Later, he ventured into painting scenes from history and literature (such as Gretchen in Prison, a scene from Goethe's Faust).
His brother Max Hildebrand, (1839–1910), was an engineer and inventor who made several improvements to geodetic and astronomical instruments.