Johann Friedrich Anthing (1753–1805) was a German

serviceman The term serviceman, alternatively service member, refers to enlisted members of a nation's armed forces. More generally, the term can be applied to officers as well. For more information see: *Soldier *Sailor *Airman * Marine *Coast guard *N ...

, artist and historian.

Biography

Johann Friedrich Anthing was born on 26 May 1753 in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

(then in the Saxe-Coburg Duchy, now in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

). After his theological studies in Iena, Anthing travelled across Europe, going from one royal court to the next, as a silhouette artist. He drew portraits of princes, courtiers and famous personalities such as

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

during his stay at the Weimar court (1789). He was employed in Saint-Petersburg from 1783 and drew portraits of members of the imperial family, including Grand Duke Paul Petrovitch (then

Paul I of Russia Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...

) and his wife Maria Fedorovna, as well as members of the

Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

. Anthing travelled to

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...

in 1790 to attend the crowning of Leopold II, and he published a description of the ceremony. In 1793, Anthing returned to Russia and became Marshal

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

's Aide-de-camp. He would later write a three-volume biography of Suvorov (History of the Campaigns of Marshal Suvorov). After the crowning of

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

and Suvorov's subsequent disgrace in 1797, Anthing resigned. He spent the last years of his life in Saint-Petersburg and died on 12 August 1805.

Personal life

Married to a Frenchwoman, he had a daughter, Johanna Maria Sophia "Sophinka" d'Anthing (1799–1823), who would settle in France. He was also the elder brother of general

Karl Heinrich Wilhelm Anthing Carl Heinrich Wilhelm Anthing (11 November 1766 in Saxe-Gotha – 7 February 1823 in The Hague) was a German officer, in Dutch service under several successive regimes, starting with the Dutch Republic, and followed by the Batavian Republic, th ...

Some of his drawings

Image:Anthing-Pavlovsk.jpg, Silhouettes of Paul Petrovitch, Maria Fedorovna and their children Image:Anthing-DavidRoentgenhighres.jpg, Silhouette of

David Roentgen David Roentgen (1743 in HerrnhaagFebruary 12, 1807), was a famous German cabinetmaker of the eighteenth century, famed throughout Europe for his marquetry and his secret drawers and poes and mechanical fittings. His work embraces the late Rococ ...

in the imperial cabinet Image:Pallas Peter by Anting 1784.png,

Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810. Life and work Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son ...

Image:Lexell.png,

Anders Johan Lexell Anders Johan Lexell (24 December 1740 – ) was a Finnish-Swedish astronomer, mathematician, and physicist who spent most of his life in Imperial Russia, where he was known as Andrei Ivanovich Leksel (Андрей Иванович Лексе ...

Selected works

* ''Recueil de cent silhouettes de personnes illustres et célèbres dessinées d'après les originaux'' (1791). In French, on the

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

's website

* ''Über Russland, seine Landesart, Sitten, Luxus, Moden und Ergötzlichkeiten'' (1791) * ''Versuch einer Kriegs-Geschichte des Grafen Alex. Suworow'' (1795–1799) (English : ''History of the Campaigns of Prince Alexander Suworow Rymnikski, Field-Marshal-General in the Service of His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Russia'')

Sources

* Short biography in German of Johann Friedrich Anthing on the National German Library's website (Deutschen Nationalbibliothek)

* Anthing, Johann Friedrich (2002). ''History of the Campaigns of Prince Alexander Suworow Rymnikski, Field-Marshal-General in the Service of His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of Russia.'' BookSurge Publishing. * Schüddekopf, Johann Friedrich (1913). ''Johann Friedrich Anthing. Eine Skizze.'' Weimar: Gesellschaft der Bibliophilen. (Johann Friedrich Anthing. A drawing) {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthing, Johann Friedrich German artists Military history of Russia 1753 births 1805 deaths