Franz Krüger (10 September 1797, in
Großbadegast,
Köthen,
Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...
– 21 January 1857, in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
), known as Pferde-Krüger ("Horse-Krüger"), was a German (Prussian) painter and lithographer. He was best known for his romantic and lively portraits and pictures of horses, which made him the most in demand military and portrait painter in Berlin. His paintings of military parades and hundreds of portraits led to him painting many of the "well to do" of the city.
Life
Krüger was the son of a nobleman, and his friendship with the ornithologist
Johann Friedrich Naumann
Johann Friedrich Naumann (14 February 1780 – 15 August 1857) was a German scientist, engraver, and editor. He is regarded as the founder of scientific ornithology in Europe. He published ''The Natural History of German Birds'' (1820–1844) ...
from the neighbouring town of
Ziebigk led him into animal painting. During his school days in Dessau, he came into contact with the landscape painter . Krüger studied in 1812–13 at the
Prussian Academy of Arts
The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...
in Berlin, and then continued to hone his skills independently by drawing from life, particularly in the Prussian royal stables. In 1818, his military and hunting paintings were exhibited at the academy for the first time. His painting of
Prince Augustus of Prussia (a son of
Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia) and Count
Neidhardt von Gneisenau laid the foundations for his fame as a portraitist and led to further depictions of the royal family.
In 1825, he was named a Royal Professor and a full member of the Academy of Arts. Many trips to the Russian court in
St. Petersburg and the courts in
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
and
Schwerin
Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...
followed. During a study trip to Paris in 1846, he met
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
. After the
revolutions of 1848
The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
, he returned to Dessau, but in 1855, he took part in the
World Exhibition in Paris.
In 1825, he married an artist called Johanna Eunicke. She died in 1856. He died the year after, and was buried at
Dorotheenstadt cemetery in Berlin.
One of his students was the animal painter
Carl Steffeck
Carl Constantin Heinrich Steffeck (4 April 1818, Berlin – 11 July 1890, Königsberg) was a German painter and graphic artist. He was especially well known for his paintings of horses and dogs.
Life
He was the son of a "gentleman of independ ...
.
Selected works
File:1824 Krueger Parade Opernplatz in 1822 anagoria.JPG, '' Parade in the Opernplatz in Berlin'' , 1830
Image:Franz Krüger 001.jpg, Franz Krüger: Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (later Kaiser-King Wilhelm I
Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...
) with painter, 1836 ( Alte Nationalgalerie)
File:Nicholas I with wife by F.Kruger (1833, Russian museum).jpg, '' Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna'' (Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum (), formerly known as the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (), on Arts Square in Saint Petersburg, is the world's largest depository of Russian fine art. It is also one of the largest art museums in ...
)
File:1846 Krueger Friedrich Wilhelm IV anagoria.JPG, ', 1846, Deutsches Historisches Museum
The German Historical Museum (), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans". It is often ...
File:Alte Nationalgalerie-Krüger-Regimentübergabe in Potsdam 1817 DSC8020 (cropped).jpg, '' Parade in Potsdam in 1817'', 1849, Alte Nationalgalerie
File:1851 Krueger Zwei Reiter im Galopp anagoria.JPG, ''Two riders galloping'', 1851, Germanisches Nationalmuseum
The ''Germanisches Nationalmuseum'' is a museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1852, it houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. The museum is Germany' ...
Literature
*Max Osborn: ''Franz Krüger''. Edited and with a foreword by Kerstin Englert. Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1997 (New issue of a book of 1910)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Franz
1797 births
1857 deaths
Painters from the Kingdom of Prussia
People from Südliches Anhalt
19th-century German painters
19th-century German male artists
German male painters
German printmakers