Porträt Robert Franz (1815-1892)

Portrait of Robert Franz. This is a frequently depicted depiction of the hallesque composer, as a frontal chest image facing left and looking. He wears, presumably, a buttoned jacket with collar and neckband, the hair is thwarted. Robert Franz studied composition in Dessau and held important positions on his return to Halle, such as the position of the organist at the Ulrichskirche, as conductor of the Singschule and from 1859 as university music director. His great merit is the reestablishment of Handel’s oratorios, which he worked on for this purpose. The portrait was executed as a steel engraving by Adolf Neumann. The abbreviation to the left of the motif, “An,” both he and his brother August used, but here the inscription clarifies in more detail which new man it is. The illustration was printed in 1873 in “Westermann 's MonatsbDie” for an article by La Mara. Signature: AN. Adolf Neumann gest. Publisher of F.E.C. Leuckart (Constantin Sander) in Leipzig. Print from F.A. Brockhaus in Leipzig. Caption: Rob. Franz. Source: Westermann, George: Westermann’s yearbook of the Illustrirten Deutsches Monatshefte. A family book for the entire spiritual life of the present, 33rd volume, October 1872-March 1873, Braunschweig, p. 97. (Ein Händel-Haus Halle Foundation)