Adolf Rettelbusch

Johann Adolf Rettelbusch (15 December 1858 – 8 January 1934) was a German painter. He was nicknamed the Brockenmaler, after Brocken, a peak in the Harz mountains, which became a major focus of his work after he took a trip there in 1888.

Life Rettelbusch was the eighth child born to a family of innkeepers. He was born in Kammerforst. After attending the local schools, he went to the Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School in 1878. Theodor Hagen and Alexander Struys were among his teachers. After trying several styles, he decided to devote himself to landscape painting. Before graduating, however, he had to quit school for financial reasons. In 1880 and 1881, he took lessons to pass the drawing teacher exams with Karl Gussow at the Prussian Academy of Arts. In 1906, he was appointed a Professor and remained there until his retirement in 1924.

He was also involved in the cultural life of Magdeburg. In 1893, he founded the Artists' Association of St. Luke and was its president for many years. Nine years later, he founded the Artists' Association of Börde (a region in Northern Germany). He was an active member of the Masonic Lodge.

He died in 1934 in Magdeburg. A street in that town is named after him.

Work Although he is primarily known as a landscape painter, his more than 4,000 canvases dealt in a wide variety of subjects, including the First World War and the Krupp-Gruson armaments factory. Every year, he produced a series of Brocken-related postcards. Hundreds of his works are in private collections, and many were destroyed in World War II, but a large selection may be seen at the Magdeburg Cultural History Museum and the Rennstieg-Hotel in Kammerforst, which is still operated by the Rettelbusch family.