Franz Seraph Stirnbrand

Franz Seraph Stirnbrand (c.1788/94 - 2 August 1882, Stuttgart) was a German portrait painter. Of unknown parentage, he was given the name "Stirnbrand" (brow burn) when he was baptized, in recognition of a scar on his forehead; the result of a childhood accident.

Early life

Found abandoned in a ditch, he was presumed to be the illegitimate son of a Croatian soldier from a unit stationed nearby,Constantin von Wurzbach: Stirnbrand, Franz. In: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich''. Vol. 39, Verlag L. C. Zamarski, Wien 1879, pgs.57–59

Also contains a detailed description of the accident that led to his name. and was raised as a foster child by a local tax official named Johann Baptist Röser. His first art lessons came from Philipp Friedrich von Hetsch, who was resting in Enns at the home of one of Rösers relatives, on the way back to Germany from Italy. In 1805, he was apprenticed to a decorative house painter in Linz, where he was able to take drawing lessons on Sundays. He was offered a place at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, but couldn't accept for lack of adequate financial support. He remained with the house painter until he became a journeyman.

Career

Faced with military conscription, he fled to Frankfurt where he found work in a tin factory, painting portraits of famous people on cans and cups. He also worked on making connections for his personal career but, with business down due to the Russian Campaign, he lost his job and moved to Stuttgart, where he worked as a portrait painter. By 1816, he had earned enough to make a visit home, then returned to Stuttgart after a short stay in Karlsruhe. Once he was settled there, he was able to obtain the patronage of the Duchess Wilhelmine, wife of Duke William Frederick Philip of Württemberg. Their sons, Count Alexander and Count Wilhelm (Later the Duke of Urach), were also frequent customers. During this time, he travelled extensively; visiting Belgium, Paris and Rome, where he painted Pope Leo XII. Eventually, commissions for his portraits extended throughout the nobility, the upper civil service and theatrical circles. A few orders even came from King William I of Württemberg.

Personal life

In 1830, he built his own home and hosted salons with many notable guests from the fields of art, music and theater such as Nikolaus Lenau, Franz von Dingelstedt and Friedrich Wilhelm Hackländer. In 1838, he married.

Gallery

File:Portrait of Karl Theodor von Dalberg by Franz Stirnbrand.jpg, Portrait of Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, 1812
File:FS Stirnbrand - Königin Katharina von Württemberg (ÖaL 1819).jpg, Queen Katharina of Württemberg, 1819
File:Stirnbrand Katharina Königin von Westfalen.jpg, Portrait of Princess Catharina of Württemberg, s
File:Stirnbrand Polier-Vernand.jpg, Portrait of Jean Noé Godefroy de Polier-Vernand, 1823
File:Franz Seraph Stirnbrand Porträt Friederike Dorothea von Baden 1824.jpg, Portrait of Friederike Dorothea von Baden, 1824
File:Franz Seraph Stirnbrand (1788-1882) - Charlotte, Princess Royal, Dowager Queen of Würrtemberg (1766-1828) - RCIN 402477 - Royal Collection.jpg, Portrait of Charlotte, Princess Royal, Dowager Queen of Würrtemberg, 1826
File:Franz Seraph Stirnbrand Freiherr von Hügel.jpg, Portrait of Ernst von Hügel, 1829
File:Pauline Friederike Marie, Prinzessin von Württemberg.jpg, Portrait of Princess Pauline of Württemberg, 1830
File:Wilhelm I. in Uniform Ölgemälde.jpg, Portrait of Wilhelm, Duke of Urach, 1835
File:Franz S Stirnbrand - Paul Julius Christlieb Haidlen (ÖaL 1842).jpg, Portrait of Paul Julius Christlieb Haidlen, 1842
File:Stirnbrand Rapport bei König Wilhelm I.jpg, Portrait of Report to King William I, 1847

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Stirnbrand

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirnbrand, Franz Seraph
1780s births
1882 deaths
19th-century German painters
19th-century German male artists
German male painters
Austrian emigrants to Germany
Portrait painters