Friedrich Carl Gröger (14 October 1766 in Plön – 9 November 1838 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

) was a north-German portrait painter and lithographer. One of the most respected portraitists of his time in northern Germany, his works are to be found in several museums, including the Hamburger Kunsthalle, as well as in north German, Holstein and Danish private collections.

Life

Gröger was the son of a tailor in Plön, where he grew up in modest circumstances. His parents wanted him to become a tailor or wood turner and opposed his early artistic activities. He was largely self-taught in painting, though he had some contact in

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

with Tischbein and in 1785 was in the city of

, where he met Heinrich Jacob Aldenrath, his first, most loyal and lifelong friend - the Grögersweg in Hamburg-Barmbek named after him links the Tischbeinstraße with the Aldenrathsweg. From 1789 he studied at Berlin's

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 ...

. He and Aldenrath then went together to

, then on a joint study trip to

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 ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, then back to Lübeck, where he worked until 1807. They then alternated between Hamburg,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

and Lübeck, before finally settling in Hamburg in 1814. In 1792 Gröger was made an honorary member of the Gesellschaft zur Beförderung gemeinnütziger Tätigkeit in Lübeck. Gröger developed from a miniature painter into a portrait painter, who towards the end of his life preferred three quarter bust portraits. Aldenrath took over the miniature painting side of their joint business. After

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, 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 ...

developed in northern Germany, they both worked in this medium individually as well as jointly under the business name Firma Gröger & Aldenrath.

Gallery

File:Johann Albert Heinrich Reimarus.jpg, Johann Albert Heinrich Reimarus File:Salomon Heine, Bankier.jpg, Salomon Heine File:Linagroeger retouched.jpg, Lina Gröger, the artist's foster daughter, 1802 File:Elisabeth Seyler and her husband Gerhard von Hosstrup painted ca. 1815 by Friedrich Carl Gröger.jpg, Gerhard von Hosstrup and his wife Elisabeth née Seyler, painted ca. 1815

Life

Gallery

See also