Heinrich Carl Brandt

Heinrich Carl Brandt (11 November 1724, in Vienna - 6 May 1787, in Munich) was an Austrian-German court painter. He created portraits of several noble families in Mainz, Mannheim and Munich. He is probably best known for the ones commissioned by the House of Wittelsbach.

Life and work

There is no reliable information about his family, although the landscape painter, Christian Hilfgott Brand, is generally believed to have been his father.Johann Rudolf Füssli (1809), ''Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon: Zweyter Theil'', Part I A–C, Zürich: Orell, Füßli, p. 114
Online
Georg Kaspar Nagler, ''Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon oder Nachrichten von dem Leben und den Werken der Maler, Bildhauer, Baumeister, Kupferstecher, Formschneider, Lithographen, Zeichner, Medailleure, Elfenbeinarbeiter, etc'', Vol.2, ''Börner – Cleoetas'', E. A. Fleischmann, 1835, pg.106
Google Books
From 1739 to 1745, he studied with Jacob van Schuppen at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. He then learned portrait painting in the master class of Martin van Meytens, who was the court painter for Empress Maria Theresa.Joseph August Beringer, "Der kurfürstl. Cabinettsportraitmaler Heinrich Karl Brandt", In: ''Mannheimer Geschichtsblätter'', Vol.11-12, 1902
Online)
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He had planned to complete his studies in Paris, but on his way there, he stopped in Frankfurt to paint a portrait of the diplomat, Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl, who was pleased with the results and recommended him to the Elector, Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein. He was also pleased, and appointed him a court painter with an annual salary of 600 Florins, plus food and lodging. He remained there through 1760. In addition to his court work, he accepted apprentices for training.

In 1761, the Elector sent him to Mannheim to order stamps from the mint. While there, he visited the art galleries at Mannheim Palace and was so impressed by the works in their collection, he decided to move there to study them. In 1764, he received another appointment as court painter, for Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. Five years later, when the private became a state institution, he was named its first Professor and Secretary. During his time there, he was married, but little is known of his wife or children, if any.

Despite a regular salary, plus additional payments per portrait, in the mid-1770s he began to suffer from financial problems. He was said to live a lavish lifestyle, with several mistresses, and his wife apparently left him. The final blow came in 1778, when the Elector moved his court to Munich. He followed, three years later, but his situation failed to improve, due to the higher cost of living there, and a drinking problem, which sometimes left him unable to work.

In 1787, he developed a close friendship with Gabriele Corva, the young daughter of the Elector's Castle Keeper, Franz Corva. The relationship was criticized as immoral, and brought his entire lifestyle into discussion. In May 1787, a loan was cancelled, not long before a major bill of exchange was coming due. Shortly after, he committed suicide by poisoning. He left a suicide note on the cancellation letter that read "Dieser Brief ist die Ursach meines Todes" (This letter is the cause of my death).

Selected portraits

File:1724 Carl Theodor.jpg, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
File:Heinrich Carl Brandt - Portrait of Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein.jpg, Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein
File:FriedrichMichaelZweibr.jpg, Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
File:Brandt Maria Amalie Auguste.jpg, Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
File:Prinzessin Maria Anna von Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.jpg, Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

References

External links

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Entry for Brandt
@ Personendaten

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Heinrich Carl

1724 births
1787 deaths
German painters
German portrait painters
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
Court painters
Artists who committed suicide
Artists from Vienna