Ferdinand Kobell (7 June 1740,
Mannheim – 1 February 1799,
Munich) was a German
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
and
copper engraver.
Biography
His family was originally from
Hesse. His grandfather, Johann Heinrich Kobell, was a prosperous grocer who came to Mannheim from
Frankfurt-am-Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...
in 1720. His parents were Balthasar Kobell (d.1762), an entrepreneur and Court Councilor, and Maria Franziska née Mezinger (1718-1762).
He initially studied law in
Heidelberg, becoming a secretary to the court in 1760, but he soon turned his attention to painting. He was released from service, and obtained a scholarship to attend the . In 1764, he started work as a theatrical painter and married Maria Anna Lederer (1744-1820), daughter of one of the Court Councilors. They had seven children, including
Wilhelm von Kobell, who became a landscape, animal and battle painter.
In 1766, he was appointed
court painter. To complete his training, he took an eighteen-month study trip to Paris, where he made contact with the expatriate German engraver,
Johann Georg Wille
Johann Georg Wille, or Jean Georges Wille (5 November 1715, near Biebertal - 5 April 1808, Paris) was a German-born copper engraver, who spent most of his life in France. He also worked as an art dealer.
Life and work
He was the eldest of se ...
.
[Roger Portalis et Henri Beraldi, ''Les graveurs du Dix-huitième siècle'', Paris, Morgand et Fatout, Vol.3, pp.270-272.]
In 1794, when his court patron, Elector
Charles Theodore decided to move from Mannheim to Munich, he followed him there. In 1798, he was named Director of the , which had been moved from
Düsseldorf to Mannheim, but he died before he could return there and take up his post.
He specialized in landscapes, inspired by the style of
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem. His oil paintings are in a number of German galleries (Karlsruhe, Darmstadt, Stuttgart, and Augsburg), but his work as an engraver is considered more important. His etchings (about 300) were published by Frauenholz, in Munich (1809), as ''Œuvres complètes de Ferdinand Kobell''. More were published by Kugler (Stuttgart, 1842).
Gallery
File:A Battle Scene MET DP827305.jpg, A Battle Scene
Image:Ferdinand Kobell 002.jpg, Landscape
Image:Ferdinand Kobell 003.jpg, Bridge over the Main at Aschaffenburg
File:Alte Bruecke in Heidelberg von Ferdinand Kobell 1784.jpg, The Old Bridge in Heidelberg
File:Shepherds at rest MET DP827306.jpg, Shepherds at Rest
References
*
Further reading
*
* Joseph August Beringer: ''Ferdinand Kobell: eine Studie über sein Leben und Schaffen.'' Hahn, Mannheim 1909.
* Margret Biedermann: ''Ferdinand Kobell: 1740–1799; das malerische und zeichnerische Werk.'' Galerie Margret Biedermann, München 1973.
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobell, Ferdinand
1740 births
1799 deaths
18th-century German painters
18th-century German male artists
German male painters
German engravers
Heidelberg University alumni