Padua). After having proceeded to Florence – where Hofmann stayed for two months – he then went to Rome in January 1855. The comprehensive correspondence with his family and his detailed diary reports convey an impression of his way of painting at that time. He was deeply impressed by artwork of Antiquity, Christianity and the Renaissance. Not long after his arrival in Rome, he was introduced to Peter von Cornelius (1783–1867) and frequently paid him a visit. When he began his masterpiece The Arrest of Jesus in 1854, this work awakened the interest of Cornelius and for 4 years he accompanied Hofmann with his counsel and his constructive criticism. In 1858 the painting was finished and acquired by the Grand Duchy Art Gallery in Darmstadt. (It is still there – not on exhibition but in the archives of the Hessisches Landesmuseum.) In 1858, Hofmann returned to Darmstadt and in the following year he married Elisabeth Werner. The couple had no children. Now another period of painting portraits began. In addition Hofmann created a large altarpiece for the church in Obermörlen (Hesse): “Madonna with Christ Child and apostles Paul and Peter”. Some time later an altarpiece for Væggerløse Church (Denmark) was painted: “The Resurrected Christ”. In 1862, Hofmann and his wife moved to Dresden. More and more he devoted himself to the genre of religious paintings. In 1870, Heinrich Hofmann was appointed successor of Professor Johann Carl Baehr of the Academy of Art in Dresden whose honorable member he already was. In 1872, King Johann bestowed on him the Great Golden Medal and later he received the Albrecht-Medal from King Albert. In 1891, Hofmann’s wife died and soon after that he withdrew from the Academy of Art in Dresden. Even though he stopped working for the Academy it is obvious from his letters that in private life he continued to create many works of art until his death on 23 June 1911. Body of works Four of the most famous works of Hofmann are in the possession of the Riverside Church in New York: Christ and the Rich Young Ruler, Christ in Gethsemane, Christ in the Temple and Christ's Image. According to information of the Riverside Church, the painting Christ in Gethsemane is without much doubt one of the most copied paintings in the world. The religious body of Hofmann’s work has gained in importance in the past years. One of