He was a pioneer of the naturist and the peace movements. His country commune, Himmelhof, in Ober Sankt Veit near Vienna (1897–1899) was one of the models for the reform settlement Monte VeritàinAscona.[2] His ideas included life in harmony with nature and rejection of monogamy, turning away from any religion (although he was a follower of theosophy), and a vegetarian diet. When his commune went bankrupt, he moved to Capri and stayed there until his death in 1913
As a painter, Diefenbach was an independent representative of Symbolism. There has been a museum of his works in Certosa di San Giacomo on Capri since 1974.The largest collection of the work of Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach in the United States is held by the Jack Daulton Collection in Los Altos Hills, California.
Hermann Hendrich was born in the vicinity of the storied Kyffhäuser, his parents were Auguste Friederike Hendrich née Ziegler and the baker August Hendrich. From 1870 to 1872 he served his apprenticeship as lithographer; one year shorter than the regular duration due to his evident talent. He then started a job in a Hanoverian lamp factory where he had to draw a catalogue. At that time, he first attended a Wagnerianopera,Tannhäuser, and the wish emerged to be able to draw such musical impressions.
In 1875, Hendrich attended a job at a Berlin art institution where he had to lithograph oil paintings. in 1876, he visited Norway for further art studies. The jury of the “Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung” (great Berlin art exhibition) disapproved however the exhibition of his paintings. Hendrich then started a job as painter in Amsterdam. In 1882, he married Clara (Kläre) Becker which he met there. On their honeymoon trip they visited Hendrich’s brother in Auburn, New York. Here, he exhibited for the first time his paintings. After some initial sales, the remaining entire amount of pictures was bought by a single art dealer. Using the earned money Hendrich then made a study trip through the USA.
To further deepen his education, in 1885 he went back to Germany. He started lessons by Professor Wenglein in Munich, but then moved to Berlin, and made a study trip to Norway. In 1886, Hendrich entered a studio of the Berlin Academy of Art and received a stipend from the Prussion Ministry of Education and Arts. His paintings were firstly exhibited in Germany.” (Wikipedia)
