Today’s works of art are by a German artist, Eduard Grützner, who was born in 1846 and became well-known for his genre paintings of monks until his death in 1925. I had a hard time choosing from among his monk paintings, so there are a number of them presented here. Few of them are dated, and they would have been throughout his career. Many of them appear to be the same monk used as the model. And some of them can be purchased at Art Prints on Demand. But to me, they’re exactly what I envision when I think of 19th century monastery breweries.
Bruder Braumeister im Bierkeller (a.k.a. Brother Master Brewer in the Beer Cellar from 1902).
Braumeister bei der Brotzeit im Klosterkeller (a.k.a. Master brewer snacking in the Cloister cellar from 1892).
Bier Test (1905).
Mönch auf dem Weg zur Brotzeit (a.k.a. Monk on the Way to Snack).
The Connoisseur (a.k.a. Capuchin monk).
The Klosterbräu with Salvatorhumpen as Well as Radish and Radish (1889).
The Brewmaster’s Break (1885)
Kellermeister (a.k.a. Cellarmaster).
You can read more about Eduard von Grützner at his Wikipedia page, and you can view more of his artwork at Art Prints On Demand and
Ask/Art.
Grutzner has been a favorite of mine for many years. Always approached brewing with a great sense of humor. I discovered him when researching the source of the Falstaff image used by Lemp and then Falstaff brewing Companies. Both adapted images from Grutzner’s Falstaff series for their advertising. In fact, Lemp directly used and credited Grutzners works in some pre-prohibition ads. See http://home.earthlink.net/~joeleg/id3.html for some adaptations of his work used for advertising chargers. Like your blog
i have a Gd Grutzer advertizing print for the Crystal Springs Brewery in Syracuse NY. Can anyone tell me anything about the print.It looks just like The Klosterbräu with Salvatorhumpen as Well as Radish and Radish (1889) but it a man not a monk.The print signature is dated 90. I am assuming 1890.Ths
Hi Don,
Just stumbled on your e-mail and note your penchant for Grutzner.beer cellar paintings.
We have one circa 12″x10″ with quite a bit of age in it. It is exactly like the ones shown on the web though the monk on this occasion is rather less jolly. I would put my life on it that it is one of his. There is a problem however. The gilded painter’s name tag on the front of the frame says J. Grutzner and not Eduard Von Grutzner Sometimes you will see painting running in families, rather like a trade, but this does not seem to be the case with Grutzner. Nor did he have offspring who were painters. As far as I can make out, the painting is genuine. Can you throw any light on the oddity of the name ? Hope you can help, with kind regards,
Liam Murray
I have a print titled ” An Excellent Connoisseur”. Its very old, not well cared for but i do not see the artisits name. My research has led me to Eduard Grutzner since his monks look very similar to the one I have. Would youknow if he would be the artist?
I have a large painting by him I purchased from an Estate sale 15 years ago.
I wonder what it’s value is. The frame looks original.
I believe it is A Happy Monk
Szép napot!
Nekem szintén van tőle festményem, mely szintén egy szerzetest ábrázol. A kép rossz állapotban volt, mikor vásároltam, már restaurált, és szeretném értékesíteni, de én sem tudom az értékét.
Translation of Ranlom’s Comment:
Have a nice day!
I also have her paintings, which also depicts a monk. The picture was in poor condition when I purchased, I have restored and would like to sell, but I do not know its value.