Groll was born in
Düsseldorf as the son of a glove maker and writer Theodor Groll (b. 1831). In 1878, he completed his school education at the
Humboldt-Gymnasium Düsseldorf [
de]. He then attended the Berlin
Bauakademie, where he graduated as
master builder. He later changed his discipline and became a private pupil of the Düsseldorf landscape and veduta painter
Caspar Scheuren. Groll undertook numerous study trips, several times to Italy. In April 1890 he visited Rome.[1] From 1892, he stayed in the U.S. for several years. In 1893, he was a judge at the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1896, he travelled through southern and central German cities. In 1904, Groll founded the November Group together with the painters
Hans Deiker [
de],
Carl Haver [
de],
Carl Ernst Bernhard Jutz,
Gustav Rutz,
Emil Schultz-Riga and others in Düsseldorf.[2][3] Groll was a member of the
Verein der Düsseldorfer Künstler [
de] and the
Malkasten,[4] which he served as chairman for several years. Groll died in Düsseldorf at age 56.[5][6]
Work
Groll made a special name for himself with his fine, detailed architectural painting. Besides
Oswald Achenbach,
Albert Flamm and others he belongs to the "Italian painters" of the Düsseldorf School.[7] At an international art auction in 2013, Groll's Afternoon in Venice was sold for 58,750 euro.[8]
Pompei (Blick zum Apollo-Tempel), 1891, Volmer Foundation Collection.[9]
Venedig (Die Portal della Carta zwischen San Marco und dem Dogenpalast), 1907
Venezianischer Palazzo
References
^Friedrich Noack: Das Deutschtum in Rom seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters. Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1927, vol. 2, p. 220
^Bettina Baumgärtel: Chronik der Düsseldorfer Malerschule 1815–2011. In Bettina Baumgärtel (ed.): Die Düsseldorfer Malerschule und ihre internationale Ausstrahlung 1819–1918. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2011,
ISBN978-3-86568-702-9, vol. 1, p. 375
^Magdalena M. Moeller: Der Sonderbund. Seine Voraussetzungen und Anfänge in Düsseldorf. Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1984,
ISBN978-3-79270-798-2, p. 28
^Peter Heslin: The Museum of Augustus. The Temple of Augustus in Pompeii, the Portico of Philippus in Rome and Latin Poetry. Getty Publications, Los Angeles 2015,
ISBN978-1-60606-421-4, p. 136, foot note 8 (
Google Books)