Adolf Theer (2 May 1811, Johannesberg – 23 April 1868,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) was an Austrian portrait painter and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the 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 the German ...

Life and work

He was born to (née Junker), an

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

designer, and Joseph Theer, a

gemcutter Lapidary () is the practice of shaping stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary techniques of cutting, grinding, and polishin ...

. Both of his brothers,

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, also became painters. In 1820, his family moved from

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

to Vienna. From 1827 to 1830, he studied engraving at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

. For a year, he studied history painting. After graduating, from 1832 to 1848, his works were among those most frequently seen at the Academy's exhibitions. In January of 1852, he had a major showing with the Österreichischer Kunstverein. Most of his clientele came from the upper middle-class. He died from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

at the age of fifty-six.

Watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

s were his primary medium, and he specialized in

miniature portrait A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

s for most of his career. He also worked as a copyist, recreating works by

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a shoe ...

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

, Murillo,

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

and

Philip van Dijk Philip van Dijk (10 January 1683 – 2 February 1753) was an 18th-century painter from the Dutch Republic. Biography According to the RKD, he was a student of Arnold Boonen in Amsterdam, but became a student of Adriaen van der Werff in Rotte ...

. As a lithographer, he produced portraits of notable people such as the actress

Luise Neumann Luise Neumann (7 December 1818 – 17 October 1905) was a German actress, the daughter of the actress Amalie Haizinger. Her younger sister, , was also an esteemed actress of the period. She made her debut at the age of 16 in a performance ...

, and Napoleon Franz Bonaparte, as a child. In addition to his artworks, he created illustrations for popular

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

s and paperbacks, including ''Aurora'' and ''Gedenke mein'' (My Memories), by

Johann Gabriel Seidl Johann Gabriel Seidl (21 June 1804 – 18 July 1875) was an Austrian archeologist, poet, storyteller and dramatist. He wrote the lyrics to "" This was the 1854 version of the Austrian Imperial Anthem, music by Joseph Haydn (""). Born in Vi ...

, and ''Huldigung der Frauen'' (Homage to Women) by

Ignaz Franz Castelli Ignaz Franz Castelli (6 March 1781 – 5 February 1862) was an Austrian dramatist born in Vienna. He studied law at university, and then entered government service. During the Napoleonic invasions his patriotism inspired him to write stirri ...

, although his depictions of women were generally considered to be mechanical and expressionless.

References

External links

More works by Theer
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Theer, Adolf 1811 births 1868 deaths Painters from the Austrian Empire Austrian portrait painters 19th-century Austrian lithographers 19th-century Austrian painters Miniature painting Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni People from Javorník