The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Retzsch, Moritz

RETZSCH, rĕtsh, Moritz, German artist: b. Dresden, 9 Dec. 1779; d. Holflossnitz, near Dresden, 11 June 1857. As a painter his subjects were taken largely from German and Greek mythology and display beauty in drawing and color. Retzsch's illustrations of the great poets, comprehending the drawings executed by him for editions of Goethe's &lsquo;Faust,&rsquo; and the works of Schiller and Bürger, have rendered him deservedly famous. He executed a &lsquo;Shakespeare Gallery&rsquo; consisting of 80 plates. In 1824 he was appointed a professor in the Art Academy at Dresden. His illustrations of poetry and legend were done in outline and are distinguished by exquisite delicacy and refinement of form and expression.