Erwin Speckter (18 July 1806,

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

- 23 November 1835, Hamburg) was a German painter, often associated with the

Nazarene movement The epithet Nazarene was adopted by a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who aimed to revive spirituality in art. The name Nazarene came from a term of derision used against them for their affectation of a biblical manner of c ...

Life

His father was the lithographer, Johannes Michael Speckter. During the

Siege of Hamburg The city of Hamburg was one of the most powerful fortresses east of the Rhine. After being freed from Napoleonic rule by advancing Cossacks and other following Coalition troops it was once more occupied by Marshal Davout's French XIII Corp ...

, his family sought refuge at the estate of a local banker. Another lithographer, Heinrich Joachim Herterich, was living there at the time and his collection inspired Erwin's first interest in art. His father provided some of his first painting lessons, along with the local artist

Friedrich Carl Gröger Friedrich Carl Gröger (14 October 1766 in Plön – 9 November 1838 in Hamburg) was a north-German portrait painter and lithographer. One of the most respected portraitists of his time in northern Germany, his works are to be found in sever ...

, while he attended a famous private school operated by Leonhard Wächter. In 1823 (with the support of

Carl Friedrich von Rumohr Carl Friedrich von Rumohr (6 January 1785, Reinhardtsgrimma – 25 July 1843) was a German art historian, writer, draughtsman and painter, agricultural historian, connoisseur of and writer about the culinary arts, art collector and patron of artis ...

) he, his brother and Carl Julius Milde, another aspiring painter, travelled through Northern Germany, studying the ancient monuments, but he was also influenced by seeing the works of Friedrich Overbeck in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

. Two years later, he studied in Munich with

Peter von Cornelius Peter von Cornelius (23 September 1783, Düsseldorf – 6 March 1867, Berlin) was a German painter; one of the main representatives of the Nazarene movement. Life Early years Cornelius was born in Düsseldorf. From the age of twelve he attend ...

and assisted him with his decorations for the

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

at the

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinak ...

. This reinforced his artistic inclinations which, upon his return home, were further subjected to the influence of a meeting with

Philipp Otto Runge Philipp Otto Runge (; 1777–1810) was a German artist, a draftsman, painter, and color theorist. Runge and Caspar David Friedrich are often regarded as the leading painters of the German Romantic movement.Koerner, Joseph Leo. 1990. ''Caspar Dav ...

, and manifested themselves in paintings he did for a local estate in

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

. This was followed by a four-year stay in Italy (mostly Rome), where he devoted himself largely to religious paintings, although he produced many drawings as well. Once again returning to Hamburg in 1834, he began putting his new ideas to work, designing frescoes for the Mayor's official residence. During this work, his

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

(which had plagued him for years) grew worse and the attacks became more frequent. He died soon after, before the work could be completed. His ''Briefe eines deutschen Künstlers aus Italien'' (Letters from Italy by a German Painter) were published posthumously by his brother-in-law, the Professor . (2 Volumes, Leipzig 1846). His brother, Otto Speckter, became a well-known illustrator.

References

External links

ArtNet: More work by Speckter

Works by Erwin Speckter
in the collection of the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Speckter, Erwin 1806 births 1835 deaths German male painters Artists from Hamburg 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists

Life

References

Further reading

External links