King of the Animals

Like no other artist of his time Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865–1926) has moulded our image of Africa. In his seductively realistic drawings, watercolours and paintings he recorded with almost scientific accuracy the characteristics of the animals and their habitat. It is not surprising, therefore, that his pictures illustrated on the one hand legendary reference works like Brehms Tierleben and adorned on the other the popular collector cards of the chocolate manufacturer Stollwerck. The volume shows a comprehensive, exciting portrait of Kuhnert’s unusual life and works and takes into account at the same time the current debate on attitudes to Germany’s colonial past.