Jacob Philipp Hackert (15 September 1737 – 28 April 1807) was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy.

Biography

Hackert was born in 1737 in

Prenzlau Prenzlau (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in north-eastern Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Berlin. ...

in the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

(now in Germany). He trained with his father Philipp (a portraitist and painter of animals) and his uncle, before going to 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 ...

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 ...

in 1758. Later he traveled to

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, at the invitation of Adolf Friedrich von Olthof, a Swedish government official and businessman. For a time, he lived with Von Olthof and painted decorative murals at his estate. He spent from 1765 to 1768 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with the Swiss artist Balthasar Anton Dunker, where he focused on painting in

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

. He met and was inspired by Claude Joseph Vernet, who was already famous as a painter of landscapes and seascapes, and the German engraver Johann Georg Wille. In 1768 Hackert left Paris with his brother Georg, and went to Italy, basing himself mainly in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, where he produced many works for Sir William Hamilton. He travelled all over Italy, gaining a reputation as a talented landscape painter. He became famous everywhere in Europe due to his works for

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

, the cycle of paintings about Battle of Chesma, and

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

. In 1786 he went to work for

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...

in Naples. He advised on the creation of a painting restoration laboratory at the

Museo di Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy designed by Giovanni Antonio Medrano. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with se ...

, suggesting the call from Rome to the court of Naples of the restorer and supervised the transfer of the Farnese collections from Rome to Naples. As court painter realised famous pictures of

Caserta Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

and the

Royal Palace of Caserta The Royal Palace of Caserta ( ; ) is a former royal residence in Caserta, Campania, north of Naples in southern Italy, constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as Kingdom of Naples, kings of Naples. The complex ...

, besides the paintings series of the Bourobon's ports. During this period he acted also as a secret informant of Russia, his contact being the Russian diplomat Andrey Razumovsky. When

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

visited Naples in 1786, he and Hackert became friends. Hackert had settled in a house in

Posillipo Posillipo (; ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Romans along the mo ...

. The painters Salvatore Fergola and Salvatore Giusti (1773-1845) were among his pupils. In 1799, when Naples was declared the Parthenopaean Republic, Hackert lost much of his royal patronage. He moved to

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

and then

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He bought an estate in San Pietro di Careggi, near Florence, and he died there in 1807 and was buried in the so-called "Dutch garden" of

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

. His remains were then moved to the actual cemetery of the Dutch-German Congregation." German-Dutch Cemetery Ossuary", on Leghorn Merchant Networks Blog, by Matteo Giunti He never married and lived a good part of his life with one of his brothers but he had affairs with some married women, and from one of them he probably had a daughter.

wrote the first biography of Hackert in 1811.

Selected works

File:Jakob Philipp Hackert - Ansicht der Albaner Berge (1772).jpg, ''A view across the Alban Hills a hilltop on the right and the sea in the far distance'' File:Hackert, Feuerwerk auf der Engelsburg in Rom, 1775.jpg, ''Feuerwerk auf der Engelsburg in Rom'', 1775 Image:Jacob Philipp Hackert 004.jpg, ''Italian landscape'', 1778 File:1805 Hackert Arkadische Landschaft anagoria.JPG, ''Arcadian Landscape'', 1805 File:Mietitura_a_Carditello,_Hackert_001.jpg, '' Harvest Time at Carditello'', 1791 File:Hackert, Carl Ludwig - Mer de Glace Montanvert (no frame).jpg, ''Mer de Glace'', 1781

References

Bibliography

* Wolfgang Krönig, ''Jakob Philipp Hackert: der Landschaftsmaler der Goethezeit'', Cologne 1994. * Claudia Nordhoff with Hans Reimer, ''Jakob Philipp Hackert 1737–1807. Verzeichnis seiner Werke'', Berlin 1994. * Thomas Weidner, ''Jakob Philipp Hackert. Landschaftsmaler im 18. Jahrhundert, Bd. 1'', Berlin 1998. * Cesare de Seta and Claudia Nordhoff, ''Hackert'', Naples, 2005. * Claudia Nordhoff, ''Hackert Briefe 1761–1806'', Göttingen 2012.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackert, Jacob Philipp 1737 births 1807 deaths People from Prenzlau People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg 18th-century German painters 18th-century German male artists German male painters 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists 18th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 19th-century Italian painters Italian landscape artists Italian vedutisti 19th-century Italian male artists 18th-century Italian male artists Painters from the Kingdom of Prussia