Hermann Knackfuß

Hermann Knackfuss (; August 11, 1848 – May 17, 1915) was a German painter and writer on art. He is known for his historical paintings, but his most-recognized work is his illustration on behalf of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, Peoples of Europe, Guard your Dearest Goods, which has become an iconic symbol of the use of the yellow peril to justify European imperialism in Asia at the end of the nineteenth century.

Biography Hermann Knackfuss was born in Wissen, Rhenish Prussia. He studied at the Düsseldorf Academy between 1869 and 1874, where he was a student of Eduard Bendemann, Julius Roeting, and Eduard von Gebhardt. In 1870, he interrupted his studies to serve as a volunteer in the Franco-Prussian War. His illustrations of the war's progress during his service would appear in the magazine Die Gartenlaube. While studying at Düsseldorf, he won the state prize in 1874, which paid for his studies at Rome from 1875 to 1878. In 1880, Knackfuss was appointed to the Cassel Academy. Initially, he taught anatomy, but from 1890 onwards he also taught history of art (1890).