Carl Constantin Heinrich Steffeck (4 April 1818,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

– 11 July 1890,

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

) was a German painter and graphic artist. He was especially well known for his paintings of horses and dogs.

Life

He was the son of a "gentleman of independent means" who was interested in art. While he was still in the Gymnasium he sat in on classes at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

. In 1837, he entered the master class of horse painter

Franz Krüger Franz Krüger (10 September 1797, in Großbadegast, Köthen, Anhalt – 21 January 1857, in Berlin), known as Pferde-Krüger ("Horse-Krüger"), was a German (Prussian) painter and lithographer. He was best known for his romantic and lively ...

and later worked in the studios of

Carl Joseph Begas Carl Joseph Begas, or Karl Begas, (30 September 1794, Heinsberg – 24 November 1854, Berlin) was a German painter who played an important role in the transition from Romanticism to Realism (arts), Realism. He was the first in a multi-generation ...

. He went to Paris in 1839, where he spent two months studying with

Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (; Paris, 17 July 1797 – Paris, 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subje ...

and was influenced by the work of

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (; 30 June 178917 January 1863) more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Early career Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famo ...

. From 1840 to 1842, he lived in Italy. When he returned, he devoted himself primarily to paintings of hunters and animals. Over time, he concentrated more on horses; at rest, exercising, engaging in sports etc., but he continued to paint portraits of all sizes as well as historical paintings, lithographs, etchings, and even some small bronze animal sculptures. His student,

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

recalled how Steffeck would produce small horse-and-rider portraits, which he sold for six Friedrichsdor each and were taken home by customers while they were still wet. From the early 1850s, he was increasingly devoted to teaching. In 1859, he became a Professor at the Prussian Academy and, in 1880, was appointed Director of the Kunstakademie Königsberg. Among his best-known non-animal works are ''The Execution of Robert Blum in Brigittenau'' and a cycle of scenes from Prussian history for the Wilhelms-Gymnasium in Königsberg. He died suddenly, of a stroke, and is buried at the Französischer Friedhof (French Cemetery) in Berlin.

References

External links

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ArtNet: Paintings by Steffeck
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steffeck, Carl 1818 births 1890 deaths German male painters Painters from the Kingdom of Prussia Painters from Berlin Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists Academic staff of Kunstakademie Königsberg

Life

References

Further reading

External links