Editing Wilhelm Busch (section)

==Life==
===Childhood===
Wilhelm Busch was born on 14 April 1832,<ref name="Archion">{{Cite web|url=https://www.archion.de/de/news/magazin/persoenlichkeiten/wilhelm-busch/|title="Dieses war der erste Streich, Doch der zweite folgt sogleich" - Wilhelm Busch|date=14 April 2022|publisher=Archion|language=de}}</ref><ref name="Galway2000">{{Cite journal|title=Wann hatte Wilhelm Busch wirklich Geburtstag?|first=Carol|last=Galway|journal=Germanic Notes and Reviews|year=2000|volume=31|number=1|issn=0016-8882|pages=14–18|trans-title=When was Wilhelm Busch's birthday, really?|language=de}}</ref>{{efn| name = Birth date}} the first of seven children to Henriette Kleine Stümpe and Friedrich Wilhelm Busch. His six siblings followed shortly after: Fanny (1834), Gustav (1836), Adolf (1838), Otto (1841), Anna (1843), and Hermann (1845); all survived childhood. His parents were ambitious, hard-working and devout Protestants who later, despite becoming relatively prosperous, could not afford to educate all three sons.<ref>Wessling, p. 22</ref> Busch's biographer Berndt W. Wessling suggested that Friedrich Wilhelm Busch invested heavily in the education of his sons partly because his own illegitimacy held significant stigma in rural areas.<ref>Wessling, p. 22, 24</ref>

The young Wilhelm Busch was a tall child, with a delicate physique. The coarse boyishness of his later protagonists, "[[Max and Moritz]]" was not his own. He described himself in autobiographical sketches and letters as sensitive and timid, someone who "carefully studied fear",<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 20">Weissweiler, p. 20</ref> and who reacted with fascination, compassion, and distress when animals were killed in the autumn.<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 20"/> He described the "transformation to sausage" as "dreadfully compelling",<ref>Weissweiler, p. 27</ref><ref>Weissweiler, p. 26</ref> leaving a lasting impression; pork nauseated him throughout his life.<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 25–27</ref>

In the autumn of 1841, after the birth of his brother Otto, Busch's education was entrusted to the 35-year-old clergyman, Georg Kleine, his maternal uncle at [[Ebergötzen]], where 100 children were taught within a space of {{convert|66|sqm|sqft|abbr=on}}.<ref>Schury, pp. 32–33</ref> This probably through lack of space in the Busch family home, and his father's desire for a better education than the small local school could provide. The nearest convenient school was located in [[Bückeburg]], {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Wiedensahl. Kleine, with his wife Fanny Petri, lived in a [[Clergy house|rectory]] at Ebergötzen, while Busch was lodged with an unrelated family. Kleine and his wife were responsible and caring, exercised a substitute parental role, and provided refuge for him in future unsuccessful times.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 29</ref><ref>Diers, p. 16</ref>
[[File:MaxMoritz.jpg|thumb|240px|A scene from ''Max and Moritz'']]

Kleine's private lessons for Busch also were attended by Erich Bachmann, the son of a wealthy Ebergötzen miller. Both became friends, according to Busch the strongest friendship of his childhood. This friendship was echoed in the 1865 story, ''Max and Moritz''. A small pencil portrait by the 14-year-old Busch depicted Bachmann as a chubby, confident boy, and showed similarities with Max. Busch portrayed himself with a "cowlick", in the later "Moritzian" [[Pompadour (hairstyle)|perky style]].<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 33–34</ref>

Kleine was a [[Philology|philologist]], his lessons not held in contemporary language, and it is not known for certain all subjects Busch and his friend were taught. Busch did learn [[elementary arithmetic]] from his uncle, although science lessons might have been more comprehensive, as Kleine, like many other clergymen, was a [[beekeeper]], and published essays and textbooks on the subject,<ref>Weisweiler, p. 32</ref><ref>Diers, p. 15</ref>&nbsp;– Busch demonstrated his knowledge of bee-keeping in his future stories. Drawing, and German and English poetry, were also taught by Kleine.<ref>Schury, p. 41</ref>

Busch had little contact with his natural parents during this period. At the time, the {{convert|165|km|mi|abbr=on}} journey between Wiedensahl and Ebergötzen took three days by horse.<ref>Schury, p. 36</ref> His father visited Ebergötzen two to three times a year, while his mother stayed in Wiedensahl to look after the other children. The 12-year-old Busch visited his family once; his mother at first did not recognize him.<ref>Kraus, p. 10</ref> Some Busch biographers think that this early separation from his parents, especially from his mother, resulted in his eccentric bachelorhood.<ref>Wessling, pp.&nbsp;30–32</ref><ref>Ueding, p. 36</ref> In the autumn of 1846, Busch moved with the Kleines to [[Lüthorst]], where, on 11 April 1847, he was [[Confirmation|confirmed]].<ref>Kraus, p. 165</ref>

===Study===
In September 1847 Busch began studying [[mechanical engineering]] at [[Leibniz University Hannover|Hannover Polytechnic]]. Busch's biographers are not in agreement as to why his Hanover education ended; most believe that his father had little appreciation of his son's artistic inclination.<ref>Kraus, p. 24</ref> Biographer [[Eva Weissweiler]] suspects that Kleine played a major role, and that other possible causes were Busch's friendship with an innkeeper, Brümmer, political debates in Brümmer's tavern, and Busch's reluctance to believe every word of the Bible and [[catechism]].<ref>Weissweiler, {{p.|43|44}}</ref>

Busch studied for nearly four years at Hanover, despite initial difficulties in understanding the subject matter. A few months before graduation he confronted his parents with his aspiration to study at the [[Kunstakademie Düsseldorf|Düsseldorf Art Academy]]. According to Bush's nephew Hermann Nöldeke, his mother supported this inclination.<ref>Diers, p. 21</ref> His father eventually acquiesced and Busch moved to [[Düsseldorf]] in June 1851,<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 51">Weissweiler, p. 51</ref> where, to his disappointment at not being admitted to the advanced class, he entered preparatory classes.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 56</ref> Busch's parents had his tuition fees paid for one year, so in May 1852 he traveled to [[Antwerp]] to continue study at the [[Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)|Royal Academy of Fine Arts]] under [[Josephus Laurentius Dyckmans]]. He led his parents to believe that the academy was less regimented than Düsseldorf, and had the opportunity to study [[Old Master]]s.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 64</ref> At Antwerp he saw for the first time paintings by [[Peter Paul Rubens]], [[Adriaen Brouwer]], [[David Teniers the Younger|David Teniers]], and [[Frans Hals]].<ref name="Schury, p. 49">Schury, p. 49</ref> The pictures aroused his interest, but made him doubt his own skills.<ref name="K30"/> Eventually, in 1853, after suffering heavily from [[Typhoid fever|typhus]], he abandoned his Antwerp studies and returned penniless to Wiedensahl.<ref>Busch, Bohne, Meskemper, Haberland, p. 6</ref>

===Munich===
Busch was ravaged by disease, and for five months spent time painting and collecting folk tales, legends, songs, ballads, rhymes, and fragments of regional superstitions.<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 75">Weissweiler, p. 75</ref> Busch's biographer, Joseph Kraus, saw these collections as useful additions to [[folklore]], as Busch noted the narrative background to tales and the idiosyncrasies of storytellers.<ref>Kraus, p. 32</ref> Busch tried to release the collections, but as a publisher could not be found at the time, they were issued after his death. During the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi era]] Busch was known as an "ethnic seer".<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 75"/>

[[File:Wilhelm Busch.jpg|thumb|right|Wilhelm Busch, 1860]]

After Busch had spent six months with his uncle Kleine at [[Lüthorst]], he expressed a desire to continue to study in [[Munich]]. This request caused a rift with his father who, however, eventually funded this move;<ref>Weissweiler, p. 80</ref> – see for comparison Busch's illustrated story of ''Painter Klecksel''. Busch's expectations of the Munich [[Academy of Fine Arts, Munich|Academy of Fine Arts]] were not met. His life became aimless; there were occasional return visits to Lüthorst, but contact with his parents had been broken off.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 84</ref> In 1857 and 1858, as his position seemed to be without prospects, he contemplated emigration to Brazil to keep bees.<ref>Diers, p. 31</ref>

Busch made contact with the artist association, Jung München (Young Munich), met several notable Munich artists, and wrote and provided cartoons for the Jung München newspaper.<ref>Schury, p. 72</ref> [[Kaspar Braun]], who published the satirical newspapers, ''Münchener Bilderbogen'' (Picture Sheets from Munich) and ''[[Fliegende Blätter]]'' (Flying Leaves), proposed a collaboration with Busch.<ref>Diers, p. 34</ref> This association provided Busch with sufficient funds to live. An existing self-caricature suggests that at this time he had an intense relationship with a woman from [[Ammerland]].<ref>Weissweiler, p. 95</ref> His courtship with a seventeen-year-old merchant's daughter, Anna Richter, whom Busch met through his brother Gustav, ended in 1862. Busch's biographer, Diers, suggests that her father probably refused to entrust his daughter to an almost unknown artist without regular income.<ref>Diers, p. 75</ref>

In his early Munich years Busch's attempts to write [[libretto|libretti]], which are almost forgotten today, were unsuccessful. Up to 1863 he worked on two or three major works; the third was composed by [[Georg Kremplsetzer]]. Busch's ''Liebestreu und Grausamkeit'', a romantic opera in three acts, ''[[Hansel and Gretel|Hansel und Gretel]]'', and ''Der Vetter auf Besuch'', an [[opera buffa]] of sorts, were not particularly successful. There was a dispute between Busch and Kremplsetzer during the staging of ''Der Vetter auf Besuch'', leading to the removal of Busch's name from the production; the piece was renamed, ''Singspiel von Georg Kremplsetzer''.<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 102–9</ref> However, German composer [[Elsa Laura Wolzogen]] set several of his poems to music.

In 1873 Busch returned several times to Munich, and took part in the intense life of the Munich Art Society as an escape from provincial life.<ref name="di120">Diers, p. 120</ref> In 1877, in a last attempt to be a serious artist, he took a studio in Munich.<ref name="di120" /> He left Munich abruptly in 1881, after he disrupted a variety show and subsequently made a scene through the effects of alcohol.<ref>Kraus, p. 147</ref> The 1878 nine episode illustrated tale ''Eight Sheets in the Wind'' describes how humans behave like animals when drunk. Busch's biographer Weissweiler felt the story was only superficially funny and harmless, but was a study on addiction and its induced state of delusion.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 265</ref>

===Publication of ''Max and Moritz''===
[[File:Wilhelm Busch, ca. 1882.jpg|thumb|upright|Wilhelm Busch, ca. 1882]]
Between 1860 and 1863 Busch wrote more than one hundred articles for the ''Münchener Bilderbogen'' and ''Fliegende Blätter'', but he felt his dependence on publisher Kaspar Braun had become constricting. Busch appointed [[Dresden]] publisher Heinrich Richter, the son of Saxon painter [[Adrian Ludwig Richter|Ludwig Richter]], as his new publisher&nbsp;– Richter's press up to that time was producing children's books and religious [[Christian devotional literature]].<ref>Weissweiler, p. 118</ref> Busch could choose themes, although Richter raised some concerns regarding four suggested illustrated tales that were proposed. However, some were published in the 1864 as ''Bilderpossen'', proving a failure. Busch then offered Richter the manuscripts of ''Max and Moritz'', waiving any fees. Richter rejected the manuscript as sales prospects seemed poor. Busch's former publisher, Braun, purchased the right to ''Max and Moritz'' for 1,000 [[Bavarian gulden|gulden]], corresponding to approximately double the annual wage of a craftsman.<ref name="Diers 45 46">Diers, pp. 45–46</ref>

For Braun the manuscript was fortuitous.<ref name="Diers 45 46"/> Initially the sales of ''Max and Moritz'' were slow, but sales figures improved after the 1868 second edition. Overall there were 56 editions and more than 430,000 copies sold up to Busch's death in 1908.<ref>Diers, p. 63</ref> Despite at first being ignored by critics, teachers in the 1870s described ''Max and Moritz'' as frivolous and an undesirable influence on the moral development of young people.<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 132–133</ref>

===Frankfurt===
Increasing economic success allowed Busch to visit Wiedensahl more frequently. Busch had decided to leave Munich, as only few relatives lived there and the artist association was temporarily disbanded.<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 138">Weissweiler, p. 138</ref> In June 1867 Busch met his brother Otto for the first time, in [[Frankfurt]]. Otto was working as a tutor to the family of a wealthy banker and industrialist, Kessler. Busch became friends with Kessler's wife, Johanna, a mother of seven and an influential art and music [[Patronage|patron]] of Frankfurt. She regularly opened [[Salon (gathering)|salons]] at her villa, frequented by artists, musicians, and philosophers.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 155</ref> She believed Busch to be a great painter, a view supported by [[Anton Burger (artist)|Anton Burger]], a leading painter of the Kronberger Malerkolonie, the [[Kronberg im Taunus|Kronberg]]-based group of painters.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 156</ref> While his humorous drawings did not appeal to her, she supported his painting career. At first she established an apartment and studio for Busch in her villa, later providing him with an apartment nearby.<ref>Kraus, p. 55</ref> Motivated by Kessler's support and admiration, and introduction to the cultural life of Frankfurt, the 'Frankfurter Years' were the most artistically productive for Busch. At this time he and Otto discovered the philosophical works of [[Arthur Schopenhauer]].<ref>Diers, pp. 75–76</ref>

Busch did not remain in Frankfurt. Toward the end of the 1860s he alternated between Wiedensahl and Lüthorst, and [[Wolfenbüttel]] where his brother Gustav lived.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 159</ref> The association with Johanna Kessler lasted five years, and after his return to Wiedensahl in 1872 they communicated by letter. This contact was interrupted between 1877 and 1891, after which it was revived with the help of Kessler's daughters.<ref>Wessing, p. 85</ref>

===Later life===
[[File:Busch Grab.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Busch's grave in Mechtshausen]]
Biographer Weissweiler does not dismiss the possibility that Busch's increasing [[alcohol dependence]] hindered self-criticism.<ref name="weiss232">Weissweiler, pp. 232–234</ref> He refused invitations to parties, and publisher Otto Bassermann sent him to Wiedensahl to keep his alcohol problem undetected from those around him. Busch was also a heavy smoker, resulting in symptoms of severe [[nicotine poisoning]] in 1874. He began to illustrate drunkards more often.<ref name="weiss232" />

Dutch writer [[Marie Anderson (Dutch writer)|Marie Anderson]] corresponded with Busch. More than fifty letters were exchanged between January and October 1875 in which they discussed philosophy, religion, and ethics.<ref>Kraus, p. 58</ref> Although only one Anderson letter survives, Busch's letters are in manuscripts.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 237</ref> They met in [[Mainz]] in October 1875, after which he returned to Bassermann at [[Heidelberg]] in a "horrible mood". According to several people at the time, Busch's failure to find a wife was responsible for his conspicuous behaviour. There is no evidence that Busch had a close relationship with any woman after that with Anderson.<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 252–253</ref>

Busch lived with his sister Fanny's family after her husband Pastor Hermann Nöldeke's death in 1879. His nephew Adolf Nöldeke remembers that Busch wanted to move back to Wiedensahl with the family.<ref>Diers, p. 119</ref> Busch renovated the house, which Fanny looked after even though Busch was a rich man,<ref name="weiss270" /> and became "father" to his three young nephews. She would, however, have preferred to live in a more urban area for the education of her sons. For Fanny and her three sons, Busch could not replace their former idyllic life. The years around 1880 were psychically and emotionally exhausting for Busch, who was still reliant on alcohol. He would not invite visitors to Wiedensahl; because of this Fanny lost contact with her friends in the village,<ref name="weiss270">Weissweiler, pp. 270–271</ref> and whenever she questioned his wishes, Busch became furious.<ref>Wesslng, p. 161</ref> Even his friends Otto Friedrich Bassermann, [[Franz von Lenbach]], [[Hermann Levi]] and [[Wilhelm von Kaulbach]] were not welcome at the house; he would meet them in [[Kassel]] or [[Hanover]].

Busch stopped painting in 1896 and signed over all publication rights to [[Bassermann Verlag]] for 50,000 [[German gold mark|gold marks]].<ref>Weissweiler, p. 332.</ref> Busch, now aged 64, felt old. He needed spectacles for writing and painting, and his hands trembled slightly. In 1898, together with his aging sister Fanny Nöldeke, he accepted Bassermann's suggestion to move into a large parsonage in Mechtshausen.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 334</ref> Busch read biographies, novels and stories in German, English and French. He organized his works and wrote letters and poems. Most of the poems from the collections ''Schein und Sein'' and ''Zu guter Letzt'' were written in 1899.<ref>Kraus, p. 153</ref> The following years were eventless for Busch.

He developed a sore throat in early January 1908, and his doctor detected a weak heart. During the night of 8–9 January 1908 Busch slept uneasily, taking [[camphor]], and a few drops of [[morphine]] as a tranquilizer. Busch died the following morning before his physician, called by Otto Nöldeke, came to assist.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 344</ref>