Karl Wilhelm Wach (also Carl Wilhelm or Wilhelm Wach) (11 September 1787 – 24 November 1845) was a German painter.

Life

Wach was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1787, studied art at 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 ...

and was a pupil of painter Karl Kretschmar. At the age of just 20, Wach was commissioned to paint an altar piece for the Paretz village church and produced his "Christ with four Apostles" (1807). Five years later came his artistic breakthrough, his painting of Königin Luise (1812). After spending 1813 to 1815 in the Prussian army, Wach then established himself in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

. He met William Hensel and the two became pupils of the painters

Antoine Jean Gros Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was given title of Baron Gros in 1824. Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the French R ...

and Jacques-Louis David. In 1817 Wach undertook a longer study trip to Italy, above all to study artists from

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

. His strongest influence – according to his own statements – was however

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

. Two years later Wach returned to Berlin (1819) and set himself up himself as a freelance artist. His first large commission was a picture for Berlin Concert Hall. Wach created for it a cover painting of the nine Muses. Prussian king

Frederick William III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

made available to Wach premises in which he then furnished a studio. Due to its influence and its many pupils, this studio soon became a school. By 1837 it had nearly 70 pupils, almost all of whom went on to forge artistic careers. His activity as a teacher did not noticeably impair his artistic work. Wach was honoured with the title ''professor'' and appointed a member of

(1820). To mark his 40th birthday Wach was officially promoted to ''royal painter'' (1827). Wach died in 1845.

Selected works

* ''Christ with four Apostles'' (1807) * ''Königin Luise'' (1812) * ''The Communion and the Auferstehung Christ'' (in the Evangelist church of St Peter & Paul, Moscow) * ''The beautiful Velletrinerin'', (1820) * ''Madonna picture'' (1826, for

Prince Frederik of the Netherlands Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau (full names: Willem Frederik Karel; 28 February 1797, in Berlin – 8 September 1881, in Wassenaar), was the second son of William I of the Netherlands and his wife, Wilhelmine of Pru ...

) * ''The Three Himmlischen Virtues'' (1830, in

Friedrichswerder Church Friedrichswerder Church (german: Friedrichswerdersche Kirche, french: Temple du Werder) was the first Neo-Gothic church built in Berlin, Germany. It was designed by an architect better known for his Neoclassical architecture, Karl Friedrich Schink ...

in Berlin) * ''

Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mo ...

'' (1830) * ''Christ at the oil mountain'' * ''Psyche of Amor surprise'' * ''A life-large Nymphe'' * ''Bildnis Bettina von Savigny'' (1834) * ''Johannes in the desert'' (1838) * ''Judith with the head of the Holofernes'' (1838) * ''Königin Elisabeth von Preußen'' (1840)

References

Biography (in German)

External links

''Bildnis Bettina von Savigny'' (1834) at Artnet

''The beautiful Velletrinerin'' at Artnet

''Christ at the oil mountain'' at Artnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wach, Karl Wilhelm 19th-century German painters 19th-century male artists German male painters 1787 births 1845 deaths Pupils of Antoine-Jean Gros Pupils of Jacques-Louis David Artists from Berlin