Carl Wilhelm Friedrich Oesterley (22 June 1805 – 29 March 1891) was a German painter and

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

. He is remembered largely for creating

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s with Biblical themes.

Biography

He was a native of

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, and studied

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and history at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, where in 1824 he earned his doctorate in the field of

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

. Subsequently he studied drawing in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, where he was a student of Johann Gottlob Matthäi (1753–1832). He then spent several years in Rome (1824–29). In 1831, he became a professor of art history at

, where he collaborated with

Karl Otfried Müller Karl Otfried Müller (; 28 August 1797 – 1 August 1840) was a German professor, scholar of classical Greek studies and philodorian. Biography He was born at Brieg (modern Brzeg) in Silesia, then in the Kingdom of Prussia. His father was a c ...

(1797-1840) on the treatise ''Denkmäler der alten Kunst'' (Monuments of Ancient Art). During this time period, he extended his artistic studies in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

(1835–38 under

Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow (7 September 1789 – 19 March 1862) was a German Romantic painter. Biography He was born in Berlin, the second son of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow, who gave him his first lessons in drawing. He then tur ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(where he studied the frescoes of

Peter von Cornelius Peter von Cornelius (23 September 1783, Düsseldorf – 6 March 1867, Berlin) was a German Painting, painter; one of the main representatives of the Nazarene movement. He was the uncle of the composer Peter Cornelius (1824–1874). Life Earl ...

) and Paris (1842). In 1842, Oesterley became a full professor of art, and in 1844, after finishing the painting ''Christus and

Ahasuerus Ahasuerus ( ; , commonly ''Achashverosh''; , in the Septuagint; in the Vulgate) is a name applied in the Hebrew Bible to three rulers of Ancient Persia and to a Babylonian official (or Median king) first appearing in the Tanakh in the Book of ...

'', he was appointed

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

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...

. Beginning in 1852 he produced numerous

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

pieces and other works of art for the church in

Rosdorf Rosdorf () is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is approximately 4 km southwest of Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital ...

, in Molzen near the town of

Uelzen Uelzen (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Uelzen (), is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the district of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a Hanseatic town and an independent municipality. Uelz ...

, and also in

Bad Iburg Bad Iburg (; Westphalian: ''Bad Ibig'') is a spa town in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teutoburg Forest, 16 km south of Osnabrück, and the Hermannsweg long-distance hiking trail passes throug ...

Selected paintings

* ''Die Tochter Jephthas'', (The Daughter of

Jephtha Jephthah (pronounced ; , ''Yiftāḥ'') appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over History of ancient Israel and Judah, Israel for a period of six years (). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given ...

), (1836) * ''Die Himmelfahrt Christi, Fresko der Schlosskirche in Hannover'', (The Ascension of Christ, Fresco of the Schlosskirche in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

), (1838) * ''Christus, die Kinder segnend'', (Christ blessing the Children), (1841) * ''Szene aus Bürgers Lenore'', (Scene from

Bürger Bürger or Buerger is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Gottfried August Bürger, German poet * Heinrich Bürger, German physicist and biologist * Heinrich Otto Wilhelm Bürger, German zoologist * Karl-Heinz Bürger, German S ...

's " Lenore") * ''Dornröschen'', (

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

), (1861) * ''Christus als Erlöser, ehemaliges Altarbild für die Evangelisch-lutherische Schlosskirche in Bad Iburg als Geschenk von König Georg V.'' (Christ the Redeemer, a former altarpiece for the Evangelical Lutheran Castle Church in

as a gift of

George V of Hanover George V (Georg Friedrich Alexander Karl Ernst August; 27 May 1819 – 12 June 1878) was the last King of Hanover, reigning from 18 November 1851 to 20 September 1866. The only child of King Ernest Augustus and Queen Frederica, he succeeded ...

Family

He was the father of

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

Carl August Heinrich Ferdinand Oesterley.

Notes

References

* ''Thieme-Becker'', 1931, vol. 25, p. 574. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oesterley, Carl 1805 births 1891 deaths Artists from Göttingen Painters from Lower Saxony 19th-century German painters German male painters German art historians Academic staff of the University of Göttingen University of Göttingen alumni German court painters German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German male artists