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Carl Constantin Heinrich Steffeck (4 April 1818,
ArtNet: Paintings by Steffeck
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steffeck, Carl 1818 births 1890 deaths German male painters Artists from Berlin Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists Kunstakademie Königsberg faculty
Carl Constantin Heinrich Steffeck (4 April 1818, Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
– 11 July 1890, Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
) was a German painter and graphic artist. He was especially well known for his paintings of horses and dogs.
Life
He was the son of a "gentleman of independent means" who was interested in art. While he was still in the Gymnasium he sat in on classes at thePrussian Academy of Arts
The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...
. In 1837, he entered the master class of horse painter Franz Krüger
Franz Krüger (10 September 1797, in Großbadegast, Köthen, Anhalt – 21 January 1857, in Berlin), known as Pferde-Krüger ("Horse-Krüger"), was a German (Prussian) painter and lithographer. He was best known for his romantic and lively po ...
and later worked in the studios of Carl Joseph Begas. He went to Paris in 1839, where he spent two months studying with Paul Delaroche
Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...
and was influenced by the work of Horace Vernet
Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (30 June 178917 January 1863), more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French Painting, painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalism, Orientalist subjects.
Biography
Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another ...
. From 1840 to 1842, he lived in Italy.
When he returned, he devoted himself primarily to paintings of hunters and animals. Over time, he concentrated more on horses; at rest, exercising, engaging in sports etc., but he continued to paint portraits of all sizes as well as historical paintings, lithographs, etchings, and even some small bronze animal sculptures. His student, Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...
recalled how Steffeck would produce small horse-and-rider portraits, which he sold for six Friedrichsdor each and were taken home by customers while they were still wet.
From the early 1850s, he was increasingly devoted to teaching. In 1859, he became a Professor at the Prussian Academy and, in 1880, was appointed Director of the Kunstakademie Königsberg The Kunstakademie at its original Königstraße location
The Kunstakademie at its original Königstraße location
The Kunstakademie Königsberg was a visual arts school in Königsberg, Germany. It focused on genre works, landscape art, and marine ...
. Among his best-known non-animal works are ''The Execution of Robert Blum
Robert Blum (10 November 1807 – 9 November 1848) was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionist and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism a ...
in Brigittenau'' and a cycle of scenes from Prussian history for the Wilhelms-Gymnasium in Königsberg.
He died suddenly, of a stroke, and is buried at the Französischer Friedhof (French Cemetery) in Berlin.
References
Further reading
*''Carl Steffeck : (1818–1890); seine Kunst, sein Leben, seine Werke zur Ausstellung aus dem Nachlasse Carl Steffecks Oktober 1913'', (an exhibition from his estate), by Max Liebermann, et al., Cassirer, Berlin (1913)External links
*ArtNet: Paintings by Steffeck
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steffeck, Carl 1818 births 1890 deaths German male painters Artists from Berlin Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists Kunstakademie Königsberg faculty