Rethel, Alfred

(äl´frĕt rā´təl), 1816–59, German historical painter and draftsman. He gained a reputation in Frankfurt, where he painted Daniel in the Lions' Den and Guardian Angel of Emperor Maximilian. His major work was half of a fresco cycle (1847–52) for the town hall of Aachen, depicting scenes from the life of Charlemagne. Rethel also made a series of remarkable drawings for wood engravings for Another Dance of Death (1849), in which he depicted events from the Revolution of 1848.