Johann Philip Lemke, also given as Lembke or Lemcke (19 May 1631,

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

- 3 April 1711,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

) was a German-Swedish graphic artist, etcher and battle painter.

Biography

His father was a sergeant in the Civil Guard during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. Despite the chaotic situation, he was able to attend school in

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

and, from 1642 to 1647, studied art with

Jacob Weyer Jacob Weyer, or Weier, (born 1623 in Hamburg, died 1670), was a 17th-century German painter. Biography Little is known of his life. He was born in Hamburg in 1623. He was a battle painter influenced by Rembrandt. Weyer died in Hamburg in 1670.

. He then went to

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, where he studied with

Jacob de Wet Jacob Willemszoon de Wet or Jacob Willemsz. de Wet the Elder (c. 1610 – between 1675 and 1691) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose works were largely influenced by Rembrandt. Biography De Wet was born and died in Haarlem. Little is known ...

from 1649 to 1651. After that, he returned to Nuremberg and worked as an assistant to the etcher, Georg Strauch (1613-1673). In 1653, he was registered as a "Master" by the city of Nuremberg for his painting of the Israeli children against the

Amalekites Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the ...

. He spent the years 1653 to 1673 in Italy, mostly in Rome, where he came under the influence of the battle painters,

Jacques Courtois Jacques Courtois or Giacomo Cortese, called il Borgognone or le Bourguignon (12 ?December 162114 November 1676) was a Franche-Comtois–Italian painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He was mainly active in Rome and Florence and became known as the ...

and

Pieter van Laer Pieter Bodding van Laer (christened 14 December 1599, Haarlem – 1641 or later) was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He was active in Rome for over a decade and was known for genre scenes, animal paintings and landscapes placed in the environs ...

. In the 1660s, his paintings came to the attention of Eric Dahlberg and

David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl (23 September 1628 – 23 October 1698) was a Sweden, Swedish nobleman and portrait painter. Biography David Klöcker was born in Hamburg. He was the son of Johann Klöcker and had eight siblings. In 1648, Klö ...

and, most likely upon the latter's recommendation, was called back to Sweden to become the official battle painter for King

Karl XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

. In 1684, he began a series of paintings for the upper gallery in

Drottningholm Palace The Drottningholm Palace ( sv, Drottningholms slott) is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Drottningholm is near the capital Stockholm. Built on the island Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), it is one of Swede ...

, including the "

Battle of Halmstad The Battle of Halmstad, also known as the Battle at Fyllebro, was fought on August 17, 1676, at Fyllebro, approximately five kilometres south of the town of Halmstad in the province of Halland in southwest Sweden. It was the last battle in Halla ...

" and the "

Battle of Lund The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of abo ...

". This was followed by paintings depicting the exploits of King

Karl X Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

in the lower gallery, for a total of twenty-four scenes. During the 1700s, these works suffered from the effects of unprofessional cleanings. In 1806,

Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand (14 July 1757 in Algiers – 23 August 1834 in Stockholm) was a Swedish count, lord of the realm, general, statesman and minister from the Skjöldebrand dynasty. He was also a knight of the Royal Order of the Se ...

had some of them made into engravings. He painted a similar series of battle scenes for

Karlberg Palace Karlberg Palace () is a palace by the Karlberg Canal in Solna Municipality in Sweden, adjacent to Stockholm's Vasastaden district. The palace, built in 1630,Solna: Huvudsta today houses the Military Academy Karlberg. In the palace park are foun ...

. He also created a large number of etchings with Biblical themes and smaller paintings that he left unsigned. Many of those were initially attributed to other artists. Occasionally, he took on students, the best known of which is probably

Carl Gustaf Tessin Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (5 September 1695 – 7 January 1770) was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, and the most ...

who, although he never became a painter, was inspired to amass a significant art collection. is also of some note. His works may be seen at the

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum (or National Museum of Fine Arts) is the national gallery of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretches far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, the nationalmuseum manag ...

, the

Uppsala University Library The Uppsala University Library ( sv, Uppsala universitetsbibliotek) at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva. The library holds books an ...

and the

Göteborgs konstmuseum Gothenburg Museum of Art ( sv, Göteborgs konstmuseum) is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third largest art museum in Sweden by size of its collection. Collections The museum holds the world's finest collect ...

, among several others.Gunnar Carlquist, ''Svensk uppslagsbok'', Vol.16, pg. 1201

References

External links

Biography
@ the ''

Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

''
More works by Lemke
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemke, Johann Philip 1631 births 1711 deaths Swedish painters War artists German emigrants to Sweden Swedish etchers

Biography

References

Further reading

External links