Grave and Column
The name Hudtwalcker is familiar to everyone in Hamburg. A street and an underground station in Hamburg-Winterhude bear the family name. Yet only a few people know about the artist Elisabeth Hudtwalcker.
Elisabeth was born into a wealthy family and received an excellent education, including instruction in music and painting. Her future husband, Senator Johann Michael Hudtwalcker (a member ofthe Hamburg Senateand one ofthe city-state’shighest-rankingofficials), fell in love with her. To declare his feelings, he placed a fictional letter in the newspaper, written as though it were addressed to a young woman, containing subtle references that only Elisabeth could understand. She realized what Johann Michael was trying to tell her, and the couple married on 21 June 1775. She was 22 years old, he 27.
Before she had children, Elisabeth devoted herself to painting. She always carried a sketchbook with her on country excursions and at social gatherings. She particularly enjoyed creating portraits, especially of women, as she found female faces more challenging to capture.
Shortly after the wedding, her first daughter was born. Motherhood was the greatest fulfillment of her life, although it left her with little time for her artistic work. Despite having household staff, she was only rarely able to paint. Illness and personal tragedies accompanied Elisabeth throughout her life. She herself frequently suffered from inflammatory fever and died on 22 November 1804 — exactly 220 years ago today. She was only 52 years old. Her portrait, painted by Jean Laurent Mosnier, can be admired at the Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Elisabeth Hudtwalcker was buried at the Maria Magdalenen Cemetery, which no longer exists today. The family monument — known as the Hudtwalcker Column — was later moved to Ohlsdorf Cemetery.
Her maiden name, Elisabeth Moller, and the names of her family members are recorded on oval inscription plaques on the Hudtwalcker Column. The column stands at the Hudtwalcker family grave in the wooded section of Ohlsdorf Cemetery. At the top of the column is the inscription:
“Forms arise and fade away;
life must witness decay,
and the ray must return to its source.”
Facebook post from Ohlsdorf Cemetery, published on 22 November 2024
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