Friedrich Georg Weitsch (8 August 1758,

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

– 30 May 1828,

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 and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

Life and work

His father, Pascha Johann Friedrich Weitsch, was a well-known artist. His younger brother, , also became a painter. He initially studied with his father. After 1776, he continued his studies with

Johann Heinrich Tischbein Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder, known as the Kasseler Tischbein, (3 October 1722, Haina – 22 August 1789, Kassel) was one of the most respected European painters in the 18th century and an important member of the Tischbein family of Ger ...

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

. After studying at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová, ...

with

Lambert Krahe Wilhelm Lambert Krahe (15 March 1712, Düsseldorf – 2 November 1790, Düsseldorf) was a German history painter and art collector. Life He was the son of a government clerk. Nothing is known of his early education. He found a patron in Ferdi ...

, he obtained a position with the

lacquerware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Befor ...

manufacturer, , where his father was a painting instructor. From 1784 to 1787, he lived abroad; first in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, then in Rome and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. Upon returning home, he received an invitation from

Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick Charles William Ferdinand (german: Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand; 9 October 1735 – 10 November 1806) was the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a military leader. His titles are usually shortened to Duke of Brunswi ...

, to work as his

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

. In that capacity, he created numerous portraits of the Duke and his family; both in

and at Salzdahlum Castle. His portraits often showed the influence of

Anton Graff Anton Graff (18 November 1736 – 22 June 1813) was an eminent Swiss portrait artist. Among his famous subjects were Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick the Great, Friederike Sophie Seyler, Johann Gottf ...

. In 1794, he was elected a member of the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

, Berlin, and married Elizabeth Schroeder. The marriage was childless. Following the death of

Bernhard Rode Bernhard Rode (25 July 1725 28 June 1797) was a Prussian artist and engraver well known for portraying historical scenes and allegorical works. He knew most of the central figures in the Berlin Enlightenment as Friedrich Nicolai and Gotthold Le ...

, he went to the academy to teach art history. He was named a

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

in 1798. That same year, he was appointed a Royal Court Painter. His works may be seen at the

Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum The Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum (HAUM) is an art museum in the German city of Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. History Founded in 1754, the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum is one of the oldest museums in Europe. The museum has its origins in the art and nat ...

, the , and the

Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum (BLM) is a history museum in Braunschweig, Germany, operated by the state of Lower Saxony. The museum is scattered on four locations: ''Vieweghaus'', ''Hinter Ägidien'' (both in Braunschweig), ''Kanzlei'' (Wolfenbü ...

Selected paintings

Image:Alexandre humboldt.jpg,

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

(1806).

Alte Nationalgalerie The Alte Nationalgalerie ( ''Old National Gallery'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the Mitte (locality), historic centre of Berlin, Germany. The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussi ...

. File:Humboldt-Bonpland Chimborazo.jpg, Humboldt and his fellow scientist

Aimé Bonpland Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (; 22 August 1773 – 11 May 1858) was a French explorer and botanist who traveled with Alexander von Humboldt in Latin America from 1799 to 1804. He co-authored volumes of the scientific results of their ex ...

at the foot of the

Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from th ...

volcano (imaginary scene, 1810) Image:Fürst Hardenberg.jpg,

Karl August von Hardenberg Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg (31 May 1750, in Essenrode-Lehre – 26 November 1822, in Genoa) was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career ...

(c. 1822) File:Meyerbeer at11 Weitsch.jpg,

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

as a boy (1802) File:Marcus Herz2.jpg, Philosopher and physician,

Markus Herz Markus Herz (; Berlin, 17 January 1747 – Berlin, 19 January 1803) was a German Jewish physician and lecturer on philosophy.

File:Nikolay Kamensky.jpg, Russian commander

Nikolay Kamensky Count Nikolay Mikhailovich Kamensky (russian: Никола́й Миха́йлович Каме́нский; 27 December 1776 – 4 May 1811) was a Russian general who outlived his father, Field Marshal Mikhail Kamensky, by two years. Life and ca ...

(1810)

Sources

* * Walther G. Oschilewski: "Erinnerung an Friedrich Georg Weitsch. Sein Wirken als Hofmaler und Akademiedirektor in Berlin", In: Verein für die Geschichte Berlins, ''Jahrbuch „Der Bär von Berlin“.'' #23, Berlin 1978 * Norman-Mathias Pingel: "Weitsch, Friedrich Georg", In: Manfred Garzmann, Wolf-Dieter Schuegraf (Eds.): ''Braunschweiger Stadtlexikon'', Joh. Heinr. Meyer Verlag, Braunschweig 1996, , pg. 136 * Gert-Dieter Ulferts: ''Weitsch, Friedrich Georg.'' In: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Günter Scheel (Eds.): ''Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon – 19. und 20. Jahrhundert'', Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1996, , pg. 644. * Reimar F. Lacher: ''Friedrich Georg Weitsch (1758–1828). Maler, Kenner, Akademiker.'' Berlin 2005,

External links

More works by Weitsch
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Weitsch, Friedrich 18th-century German painters 18th-century German male artists German male painters 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists 1758 births 1828 deaths Artists from Braunschweig People from the Duchy of Brunswick Court painters Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Prussian Academy of Arts faculty