Friedrich Geselschap

He eventually continued his studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, with Karl Ferdinand Sohn, Heinrich Mücke and Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow, among others.

[1] After completing his training, he experienced a period of economic hardship; earning his living from poorly paid portraits, many for officers of the local army garrison.

In 1866, thanks to mediation by the novelist, Wolfgang Müller von Königswinter, he received a generous gift from the businessman and art patron, August Lucius [de].

Finally, a turning point came when he was given a commission, on behalf of the banker, Adolf von Hansemann, to do work at Dwasieden Castle [de] on Rügen.

In 1879, Hitzig won him a commission for what is now considered his magnum opus: decorations in the dome of the Zeughaus; an arsenal that was being converted to a Hall of Fame.

In 1897, he took a recreational trip to Rome, in hopes of regaining his strength, so that he could personally work on a project at the Church of Peace, Potsdam.