Catharina Treu (21 May 1743 – 11 October 1811) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
still life painter, and
court painter
A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...
Dictionary of Women Artists
''Dictionary of Women Artists'' is a two-volume dictionary of 600 women artists born before 1945, going back to the Middle Ages. It was edited by Delia Gaze with 23 advisors and over 100 contributors. Gaze is a writer for the Oxford DNB and wro ...
by Delia Gaze She was taught to paint along with her brothers and sisters by their father, Joseph Marquard Treu, in Bamberg. She became a local celebrity for her copies of 17th-century still life paintings and was selected by the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg,
Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim
Adam Friedrich Graf von Seinsheim (1708–1779) was the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1755 to 1779 and Prince-Bishop of Bamberg from 1757 to 1779.
Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim was born in Regensburg on 16 February 1708, the son of Maximilian ...
, to paint a few
overdoor
An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...
s for his
Würzburg Residence
The Würzburg Residence (German: ''Würzburger Residenz'') is a palace in Würzburg, Germany. Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt and Maximilian von Welsch, representatives of the Austrian/South German Baroque style, were involved in the construction, ...
in 1762. This caused her work to become more widely known and she received a commission for overdoors in
Schloss Bruchsal
Bruchsal Palace (''Schloss Bruchsal''), also called the ''Damiansburg'', is a Baroque palace complex located in Bruchsal, Germany. The complex is made up of over 50 buildings. These include a three-winged residential building with an attached cha ...
in 1766. In the same year she followed the move of the court of Charles Theodore to
Schloss Benrath
Schloss Benrath (Benrath Palace) is a Baroque-style ''maison de plaisance'' (pleasure palace) in Benrath, which is now a borough of Düsseldorf. It was erected for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodor and his wife, Countess Palatine Elisabeth ...
in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
where she was appointed the first female teacher under
Lambert Krahe
Wilhelm Lambert Krahe (15 March 1712, Düsseldorf – 2 November 1790, Düsseldorf) was a German history painter and art collector.
Life
He was the son of a government clerk. Nothing is known of his early education. He found a patron in Ferdi ...
at the
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová ...
.
Copies
File:Catharina Treu after Abraham Mignon - Still Life with Covered Beaker.jpg, Copy by Treu, 1760s?
File:Abraham Mignon - Interior with a Still Life ASH ASHM WA1940 2 56.jpg, Original by
Abraham Mignon
Abraham Mignon or Minjon (21 June 164027 March 1679), was a still life painter.Abraham Mignon at the , c.1670
In 1769 she received the court painter title of cabinet painter for Charles Theodore's second residence at
Mannheim Palace
Mannheim Palace (german: Mannheimer Schloss) is a large Baroque palace in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally the main residence of the Prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach unt ...
. When he moved to
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, she remained in Düsseldorf where she married Jakob Konig in 1781. After this period several of her paintings are listed in inventories as by ''Mme König''. Due to the bombing and other war damage to installed paintings by her hand in various buildings, her works today are mostly known from archives and inventories, though she died a notable resident of Mannheim.
Works
She is best known for her works in series, often produced as overdoors in large palaces. Here is a pair of pendants that came into the collection of the Margraves and Granddukes of Baden in 1803. Dated 1768, they were possibly painted for the palace in Mannheim.Painting record in RKDimages
File:Catharina Treu - Pronkstilleven met fruit en akeleibeker.jpg
File:Catharina Treu - Pronkstilleven met fruit en silver wijn kan.jpg