Hermann Hendrich Die Meerfrau - Drawing. Public domain image.

Hermann Hendrich (1849–1938) was born in the vicinity of the storied Kyffhäuser, his parents were Auguste Friederike Hendrich née Ziegler and the baker August Hendrich. From 1870 to 1872 he served his apprenticeship as a lithographer; one year shorter than the regular duration due to his evident talent. He then started a job in a Hanoverian lamp factory where he had to draw a catalog. At that time, he first attended a Wagnerian opera, Tannhäuser, and the wish emerged to be able to draw such musical impressions