
The Beautiful Bassoon! – Hermann Armin von Kern
by Jesse Read
Hermann Armin von Kern (14 March 1838 – 18 January 1912) was an academic painter, one of the most popular Austrian genre painters of his time who worked at the court of Franz Josef I in Vienna. Being a very good pianist he often made music with his friend, the composer Franz Liszt. He trained in Prague, Vienna and Munich. A very prolific artist, working primarily in oils, Kern specialized in characters, settings, professions, and scenes of local activity.
I don’t know of any other prominent artist who did so many works showing the bassoon.
In all of the paintings, the bassoon is similar, and perhaps he had a good friend who was a bassoonist. The instrument is of the Viennese flared bell type as shown in the examples below. Often the bell was made of metal, not unlike a trumpet or horn bell.







Another good image showing accurate keyword (and a fine stein!)







Thank you for visiting the Bassoon Art Blog! Stay tuned for art by young bassoonists!
Jesse Read
