Jakob Schlesinger, also Johann Jakob Schlesinger (born 13 January 1792 in

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

; died 12 May 1855 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) 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 restorer.

Early years

Johann Jacob Schlesinger was born the son of the painter Johann Adam Schlesinger (1759-1829) and his wife Catharina Barbara, née Becker. His father, also a renowned painter, came from Ebertsheim, the mother from

Grünstadt Grünstadt ( pfl, Grinnschdadt) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless t ...

. The couple lived for some time in Worms, the birthplace of their son. The family moved to Grünstadt soon after. There, the boy grew up and received his first artistic training possibly from his uncle (his father's brother), Johann Schlesinger (1768-1840), an already regionally known painter. From 1809 to 1816 Johann Jacob Schlesinger attended the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

and then continued his education in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. In the Bavarian capital he started his studies from May 12, 1819 on "historical painting" at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

. Because of an

eye disease This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders. The World Health Organization publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ICD-10. ...

, however, he had to interrupt his studies for three years.

Career

Schlesinger developed a special talent for the restoration of paintings and gained a considerable reputation in this field. In particular, he devoted himself to the ''old German school''. At first, he was working mainly for the brothers Boisserée in Heidelberg. In 1822 he received an appointment as a professor and general restorer at the

Royal Museum The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

. Jakob Schlesinger was recognized as a great painter and excellent copyist, with a fondness for art from the 16th century. In 1821 he traveled to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

and reproduced

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

Sistine Madonna The ''Sistine Madonna'', also called the ''Madonna di San Sisto'', is an oil painting by the Italian artist Raphael. The painting was commissioned in 1512 by Pope Julius II for the church of San Sisto, Piacenza, and probably executed ''c.'' 151 ...

for the Speyer Cathedral. In 1834 he

lithographed Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, for the Karlsruhe Art Club the heads of Saint Barbara and the Pope, separately. He is also known for landscape portraits and pictures of fruit and flowers, though in academic cool manner, but very thoroughly elaborated. In addition to painting, Schlesinger worked as a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

. His most famous current painting is the portrait of Hegel in his last year of life (1831), which has been widely reproduced. Annik Pietsch's book, ''Weder Haut noch Fleisch: Das Inkarnat in der Kunstgeschichte'' (Neither skin nor flesh: The flesh tones in the history of art) contains a detailed discussion on the Hegel portrait.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlesinger, Jakob 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters German lithographers People from Worms, Germany 1792 births 1855 deaths

Early years

Career

Further reading

Footnotes