Anton Raphael Mengs (12 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German Neoclassical painter.

Early life

Mengs was born on 12 March 1728, at Ústí nad Labem in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

, the son of Ismael Mengs, a Danish-born painter who eventually established himself at

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, where the court of Saxon-Polish electors and kings was. His older sister, Therese Concordia Maron, was also a painter, as was his younger sister, Julia. His and Therese's births in Bohemia were mere coincidence. Their mother was not their father's wife; Ismael carried on a years-long affair with the family's housekeeper, Charlotte Bormann. In an effort to conceal the births of two illegitimate children, Ismael took Charlotte, under the pretext of "vacations", to the nearest bigger town abroad, Ústí nad Labem (90 km upstream of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

river). At least in Anton's case, Ismael Mengs took his baby and Charlotte back to Dresden a few weeks after the birth. There they lived for the next 13 years. In 1741, Ismael moved his family from Dresden to Rome, where he copied in miniature some works of Raphael for the Elector of Saxony, which were intended for Dresden.Williamson, George. "Anthon Rafael Mengs." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 21 July 2023

Adulthood

In 1749, Anton Raphael Mengs was appointed the first painter to Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony, but this did not prevent him from continuing to spend much of his time in Rome. There he married Margarita Guazzi, who had sat for him as a model in 1748. In 1749, Mengs accepted a commission from the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

to make a copy, in oil on canvas, of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

's fresco '' The School of Athens'' for his London home. Executed in 1752–5, Mengs's painting is full-sized, but he adapted the composition to a rectangular format and added other figures. It is now in the collection of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

. He converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and in 1754 he became director of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

painting school. In 1757, Mengs painted a superb fresco on the dome of the church of Sant'Eusebio in Rome. His

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

painting ''Parnassus'' at Villa Albani gained him a reputation as a master painter. On two occasions he accepted invitations from Charles III of Spain to go to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, first in 1761. There he produced some of his best work, most notably the ceiling of the banqueting hall of the Royal Palace of Madrid, the subject of which was the ''Triumph of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

'' and the ''Temple of Glory.'' After the completion of this work in 1777, Mengs returned to Rome, where he died two years later, in poor circumstances, leaving twenty children, seven of whom were pensioned by the king of Spain. Mengs died in Rome in June 1779 and was buried there in the Church of Santi Michele e Magno.

Career

Anton Raphael Mengs - Self Portrait - Google Art Project

His portraits and self-portraits show an attention to detail and insight often lost in his grander paintings. His closeness to

Johann Joachim Winckelmann Johann Joachim Winckelmann ( ; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenism (neoclassicism), Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Ancient Greek art, Greek, Helleni ...

has enhanced his historical importance. Mengs came to share Winckelmann's enthusiasm for classical antiquity, and worked to establish the dominance of Neoclassical painting over the then popular Rococo style. At the same time, however, the influence of the Roman Baroque remained strong in his work, particularly in his religious paintings. He would have fancied himself the first neoclassicist, while, in fact, he may be the last flicker of Baroque art. Rudolf Wittkower wrote: "In the last analysis, he is as much an end as a beginning".

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

regretted that "so much learning should have been allied to a total want of initiative and poverty of invention, and embodied with a strained and artificial mannerism." Mengs grave Rome

Mengs had a well-known rivalry with the contemporary Italian painter

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...

. He was also a friend of Giacomo Casanova. Casanova provides accounts of his personality and contemporary reputation through anecdotes in his '' Histoire de ma vie''. Among his pupils in Italy were Anton von Maron (Antonio Maron; (Vienna, 1731- Naples, 1761). His pupils in Spain included Agustín Esteve, Francisco Bayeu and Mariano Salvador Maella. Besides numerous paintings in

, the ''Ascension'' and ''St Joseph'' at Dresden, ''Perseus and Andromeda'' at

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, and the ceiling of the Villa Albani are among his chief works. A ''Noli me tangere'' was commissioned as an altar-piece by All Souls College, Oxford, and is now held in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, London. Another altar-piece was installed in

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

Theoretical writings

Mengs wrote about art in Spanish, Italian, and German. He reveals an eclectic theory of art that sees perfection as attainable through a well-balanced fusion of diverse excellences: Greek design combined with the expression of

, the

chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

, and the colour of

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

Selected works

* ''Ascension'' (Dresden, Court Church), 1751/1766 * ''St Joseph'' (Dresden, Court Church), 1751/1766 * ''The Glory of Saint Eusebius'' (ceiling fresco, Sant'Eusebio, Rome), 1757 ( modello, oil on canvas,

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

Ottawa) * '' Portrait of Ferdinand I'' ( National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy), 1759 * ''Charles III'' ( Museo del Prado, Madrid), 1761 * ''Infante Don Louis de Borbon'' (

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

, Cleveland, Ohio)

Gallery

File:Anton Raphael Mengs, Prince of Asturias, Future Charles IV of Spain (са 1765) - 02.jpg, ''Prince of Asturias, Future Charles IV of Spain'' (са. 1765) File:Anton Raphael Mengs - Infantin Maria Ludovica (1745-1792), Gemahlin von Leopold II.jpg, ''Portrait of Maria Luisa of Spain'' File:Mengs, Helios als Personifikation des Mittages.jpg, ''

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

as Personification of Midday'' (ca. 1765) File:Anton Raphael Mengs - St. John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness - Google Art Project.jpg, '' St. John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness'' File:Mengs, Diana als Personifikation der Nacht.jpg, '' Diana as Personification of the Night'' (ca. 1765) File:Anton Rafael Mengs - Retrato de la marquesa de Llano - Google Art Project.jpg, ''La marquesa de Llano'' (ca. 1775) File:Anton Raphael Mengs 017.jpg, ''

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

'' File:Anton Raphael Mengs, The Triumph of History over Time (Allegory of the Museum Clementinum), ceiling fresco in the Camera dei Papiri, Vatican Library, 1772 - M0tty.jpg, ''The Triumph of History over Time'', ceiling

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

. File:William Burton Conyngham.jpg, ''Portrait of William Burton Conyngham'' (1733–1796) File:Anton Raphael Mengs - The Dream of St. Joseph - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Dream of St. Joseph'' (ca. 1774) File:Johann Joachim Winckelmann (Raphael Mengs after 1755).jpg, ''

'' at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

(ca. 1777) File:“Portrait of a Lady”.webp, ''Portrait of an Elegant Lady'' (1775), Germany File:Anton Raphael Mengs - Maria mit dem Kind und zwei Engeln - GG 126 - Kunsthistorisches Museum.jpg, ''

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

with

Child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

and Two Angels'' (1770–1773), Kunsthistorisches Museum File:Mengs, Jupiter küsst Ganymed.jpg, ''

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

Kissing Ganymede (''1760), Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica

References

Sources

* *
Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, online edition

Paintings by Anton Raphael Mengs at WikiGallery.org

External links

''Europe in the age of enlightenment and revolution''
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Mengs (see index)
'Self-portrait' (1774)
at th
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

(1761) at the Museo del Prado *
Scholarly articles
in English about Anton Raphael Mengs both in web an
PDF
@ th
Spanish Old Masters Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mengs, Anton Raphael 1728 births 1779 deaths German people of Danish descent German male painters 18th-century German painters German neoclassical painters Sibling artists Artists from Ústí nad Labem German Roman Catholics Neoclassical painters Converts to Roman Catholicism Catholic painters