ZANTH, Karl Ludwig Wilhelm von

German architect, architectural theorist and watercolourGLOSSARYPigment ground in gum, usually gum arabic, and applied with brush and water to a painting surface, usually paper; the term also denotes a work of art executed in this medium. The pigment is ordinarily transparent but can be made opaque by mixing with a whiting and in this form is known as body colour, or gouache; it can also be mixed with casein, a phosphoprotein of milk. Watercolour compares in range and variety with any other painting method. Transparent watercolour allows for a freshness and luminosity in its washes and for a deft calligraphic brushwork that makes it a most alluring medium. There is one basic difference between transparent watercolour and all other heavy painting mediums - its transparency. The oil painter can paint one opaque colour over another until he has achieved his desired result. The whites are created with opaque white. The watercolourist's approach is the opposite. In essence, instead of building up he leaves out. The white paper creates the whites. The darkest accents may be placed on the paper with the pigment as it comes out of the tube or with very little water mixed with it. Otherwise the colours are diluted with water. The more water in the wash, the more the paper affects the colours; for example, vermilion, a warm red, will gradually turn into a cool pink as it is thinned with more water. The dry-brush technique - the use of the brush containing pigment but little water, dragged over the rough surface of the paper - creates various granular effects similar to those of crayon drawing. Whole compositions can be made in this way. This technique also may be used over dull washes to enliven them. painter. He was the son of the Jewish doctor Abraham Zadig, who was in the service of the Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen. The father converted to Christianity in 1820 and the family adopted the name Zanth. Ludwig Zanth visited the art and building school in Breslau. In 1808, the family moved to Kassel. Through a scholarship from the Westphalian court, Ludwig Zanth was able to visit the École polymatique and the Lycée Bonaparte in Paris during the summer and autumn of 1813. At the end of 1813 the father sent his son to Stuttgart, where he completed his school education, especially in the classicalGLOSSARYRelating to the culture of ancient Greece and Rome (classical Antiquity). The classical world played a profoundly important role in the Renaissance, with Italian scholars, writers, and artists seeing their own period as the rebirth (the "renaissance") of classical values after the Middle Ages. The classical world was considered the golden age for the arts, literature, philosophy, and politics. Concepts of the classical, however, changed greatly from one period to the next. Roman literature provided the starting point in the 14th century, scholars patiently finding, editing and translating a wide range of texts. In the 15th century Greek literature, philosophy and art - together with the close study of the remains of Roman buildings and sculptures-expanded the concept of the classical and ensured it remained a vital source of ideas and inspiration. languages. Following this, Ludwig Zanth completed an apprenticeship at the architectural office of Ferdinand von Fischer (1784-1860).

After staying in Schwäbisch Hall, Ellwangen and Paris, where he participated in two theater buildings and converted from Protestant faith to Catholicism, he settled down as an architect in Stuttgart in 1831. There he was responsible for the interior of the Wilhelmspalais, which was built between 1834 and 1840. King Wilhelm I built his magnificent building, built in classical style, for his daughters Marie and Sophie.

In 1835, Zanth participated in the competition for the construction of a royal court theater in Stuttgart. However, the project was not implemented. In 1838 he designed the plans for the Wilhelma theater, built in 1840, in Pompeian style. King William I of Württemberg entrusted him with the planning and execution of a bathhouse amidst exotic greenhouses and parks in the immediate vicinity of the Wilhelma Theater.

From 1843, Zanth planned a building in the Moorish style, which was given the name of Wilhelma by the king's order, today the name of the zoological-botanical garden. The inauguration as a Moorish country house took place in 1846. The magnificent building was such a success that the architect made a large-scale portfolio with coloured drawings. King William I of Württemberg appointed him as a court master.

The Wilhelma Theater and the Wilhelma with the gardens and Moorish buildings are the main works of Ludwig von Zanth. The architect was also a gifted draftsman.