Joseph Karl Stieler (1 November 1781 – 9 April 1858) was a German

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

.Web Gallery of Art
/ref> From 1820 until 1855 he worked as royal

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 ...

of the Bavarian kings. He is known for his Neoclassical

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

s, especially for the

Gallery of Beauties The Gallery of Beauties (german: Schönheitengalerie) is a collection of 36 portraits of the most beautiful women from the nobility and middle classes of Munich, Germany, painted between 1827 and 1850 (mostly by Joseph Karl Stieler, appointed co ...

Nymphenburg Palace The Nymphenburg Palace (german: Schloss Nymphenburg, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. Combined with the adjacent Nymphenburg Palace Park it cons ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, as well as his emblematic portrait of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, which has become one of his most famous works.

Life

Born in the city of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

to a long-established family of

engravers Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

, punchcutters and die makers, Stieler received some artistic training from his father, August Friedrich Stieler (1736–1789). After the early death of his father, Joseph Karl autodidactically completed his apprenticeship and began his career as a painter of miniatures, which were increasingly sought after by

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

circles After Mainz had been occupied by French revolutionary troops in 1792, Stieler followed the expelled court of Prince-Archbishop

Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal Friedrich Karl Joseph Reichsfreiherr von Erthal (3 January 1719 – 25 July 1802) was prince-elector and archbishop of Mainz from 18 July 1774 to 4 July 1802, shortly before the end of the archbishopric in the ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss''. F ...

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

. Here he met with the later Archbishop

Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was Prince- Archbishop of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Bishop of Constance and Worms, prince-primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and Gr ...

, who became his most important patron and sponsor. From 1802 to 1805 he attended the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

in the master class of

Heinrich Füger Heinrich Friedrich Füger (8 December 1751, in Heilbronn – 5 November 1818, in Vienna) was a German classicist portrait and historical painter. Biography Füger was a pupil of Nicolas Guibal in Stuttgart and of Adam Friedrich Oeser in L ...

. Stieler's portrait style was most especially shaped during his work in the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

ian

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a prominent French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was It ...

, a student of

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

. In 1808, he established himself as an independent

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

in the city of

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 na ...

and in 1810 travelled through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. From 1812 he worked at the court of King

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (german: Maximilian I. Joseph; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) ...

. In 1816, he again travelled to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to paint the portrait of Emperor

Francis I of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

. Between February and April 1820, he worked on his portrait of

, which is probably the most well-known representation of the composer today. In 1847 he also painted the portrait of

Lola Montez Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig ...

, whose affair with King

Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

led to the monarch's abdication the next year. Stieler retired in 1855 to live at his country home in

Tegernsee Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) above sea level. A spa town, it is surrounded by an alpine landscape of Upper Bavaria, and has an ...

. He died in Munich three years later. His son

Karl Stieler Karl Stieler (December 15, 1842 in Munich, Germany – April 12, 1885 in Munich) was a German lawyer and author. Life Stieler was the son of the painter Joseph Karl Stieler and his wife, the poet Josephine von Miller. After graduating from sch ...

(1842–1885) became a well-known writer.

Work

Stieler worked mainly in the service of the Bavarian court. His painted likenesses in Schloss Nymphenburg, the ''Schönheitengalerie'', the so-called Gallery of Beauties, were commissioned by King

. Stieler painted the portraits of

Johann Wolfgang von 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 trea ...

Amalia of Greece Amalia of Oldenburg (; 21 December 181820 May 1875) was a Bavarian princess who became Queen of Greece from 1836 to 1862 as the wife of King Otto Friedrich Ludwig. She was loved widely by the Greeks due to her patriotic love for the countr ...

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (; 27 January 1775 – 20 August 1854), later (after 1812) von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him be ...

Johann Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in Be ...

, and

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 ...

, but also

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

s. The most distinguishing feature of Stieler's portraits is his utter focus on the sitter. Decorative additions are left out, and there is nothing that distracts the viewer's scrutiny. Stieler accomplished this concentration through deliberate light and dark contrast, which above all highlights the accurately characterized facial features.

Gallery

File:Beethoven.jpg, A portrait of

, 1820. Possibly Stieler's most reproduced work. File:Cornelia Vetterlein.jpg, , 1828 File:Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg,

King Ludwig I King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

in his Coronation Robes 1826 File:Helene Sedlmayr.png,

Helene Sedlmayr Helene Kreszenz Sedlmayr (12 February 1813, Trostberg – 18 November 1898, Munich) was a German beauty of the 19th century, considered the epitome of Munich's beauties. A shoemaker's daughter, she became known to Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Lo ...

File:Stieler-Jane Digby.jpg, Lady Jane Elizabeth Digby, daughter of Admiral Henry Digby of Trafalgar File:Auguste-Amélie deBavière Stieler.jpg, Auguste-Amélie de Bavière Stieler File:Stieler, Joseph Karl - Alexander von Humboldt - 1843.jpg,

1843 File:Stieler Archduchess 1832.jpg,

Sophie, Archduchess of Austria Archduchess Sophie of Austria (german: Sophie, Erzherzogin von Österreich; 5 March 185529 May 1857) was the first child and first of three daughters and one son born to Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and his wife, Duchess Elisabeth in Bav ...

, 1832 File:Joseph Stieler - Regina Daxenberger, 1829.JPG, , 1829 File:Stieler - Marianna Marchesa Florenzi, 1831.JPG, Marianna Marchesa Florenzi, 1831 File:Sophie franzjoseph.jpg,

Princess Sophie of Bavaria Princess Sophie of Bavaria (Sophie Friederike Dorothea Wilhelmine; 27 January 1805 – 28 May 1872) was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden. The identical twin sister of Queen Maria Anna of S ...

, 1830 File:Stieler Kruedener.jpg,

Amalie Adlerberg Countess Amalie Maximilianovna Adlerberg (16 June 1808 – 21 June 1888) was an illegitimate daughter of Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, fathered by Bavarian diplomat Maximilian-Emmanuel Graf von und zu Lerchenfeld auf Köfering und Sch� ...

, 1827 File:Stieler- Auguste Hilber - Zweite Version.JPG, Auguste Hilber, 1827 File:Crescentia von Öttingen-Öttingen und Wallerstein.jpg, Crescentia Bourgin, 1833 File:Joseph Karl Stieler- Nanette Kaula.jpg, Nanette Kaula, 1829

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stieler, Joseph Karl 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters German portrait painters Artists from Mainz 1781 births 1858 deaths