Johann Christoph Brotze (; 1 September 1742 – 4 August 1823) was a Renaissance humanism era German

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

and

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

Biography

Brotze was born in

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

, into the family of a salt weigher. As a child, he was often ill and had poor eyesight, which initially made his parents oppose his desire to draw. Despite no initial prospects for higher education, Johann Christoph managed to enroll at the Görlitz Gymnasium. His father’s employer, a man named Fritsche, took him into his home. During the day, Brotze attended school or gave private lessons, and in the evenings helped with bookkeeping—Fritsche was in charge of a military grain depot during the

Seven Years’ War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. With the money he earned, Brotze paid for private lessons in mathematics and geometry. He had already achieved notable skill in technical drawing, even producing city plans for official use. After the

Peace of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg () was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it marked the end of the Seven Years' ...

in 1763, which ended the Seven Years’ War, Brotze received a scholarship from the city council for his contributions, allowing him to study at university. With Fritsche’s support, the scholarship was later increased. He began studying

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, where he met the theologian and church historian

Johann Matthias Schröckh Johann Matthias Schröckh (July 26, 1733 – August 1, 1808) was an Austrian-German historian and literary scholar born in Vienna. He was a grandson to Pietist preacher Matthias Bel (1684–1749). In 1751 he began his studies at the University o ...

. Brotze became the tutor of Schröckh’s younger brother and later his private secretary. When Schröckh moved to the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, Brotze followed, enrolled, and within a year earned a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(Dr. phil.) degree. During this period, he also trained as a draftsman and in technical drawing. In 1768, Brotze accepted an offer to become a private tutor in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

, in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Eberhard von Vegesack Eberhard Ernst Gotthard von Vegesack (29 March 1763 – 30 October 1818) was a German-born officer in the Swedish Army who was active from the Russo-Swedish War to the Swedish–Norwegian War (1814), Swedish–Norwegian War. By birth, he was mem ...

, a city councillor and chief magistrate (''Obervogt)''. He abandoned an academic career and arrived in Riga in December of that year. Fegesack’s extensive library on Livonian history sparked Brotze’s interest in Baltic history. This interest deepened after meeting other collectors of Baltic historical sources, such as the burgomaster Peter Schieffelbein and the pastor of Wenden (today

Cēsis Cēsis (; (, , , ) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river, overlooking the woods below. Cēsis was selected to b ...

), Heinrich Bauman. During that period he collected historical data and depicted in drawings and paintings everything he saw around him in his everyday life, as well as most buildings and monuments of significance in Livonia, supplemented with extensive descriptions. Today his works are considered an extremely valuable source of information for historians. He worked as a tutor for less than a year. When a teaching position (subrector) opened at the Kaiserliches Lyzeum zu Riga (Riga Imperial Lyceum), Brotze applied—hoping, like his predecessor, to become a pastor eventually. He spent the next 46 years as a teacher. In 1783, after the death of the co-rector J. B. Erdmann, Brotze was promoted to co-rector, and in 1801, after the death of the rector F. W. Götz, he also served as acting rector. When the Lyceum was transformed into a gymnasium in 1804, he continued as a senior teacher (Oberlehrer). In 1808, he was granted the honorary title of Titular Councillor, which included certain privileges and eligibility for a state pension. In 1810, he was made an honorary member of the Riga Literary and Practical Citizens' Association. Brotze retired from active service in 1815. He died in 1823 and was buried in the Great Cemetery of Riga. His tombstone, made of sandstone, was created by architect G. Kelli.

Contribution

Throughout his life, Brotze continuously drew people, buildings, monuments, and objects, creating thousands of detailed illustrations and manuscript copies, documenting the social and cultural life of his time with remarkable accuracy. His work is characterized by classical composition and decorative style, often featuring

cartouches file:Birth and Throne cartouches of pharaoh Seti I, from KV17 at the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Neues Museum.jpg, upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the ...

and

staffage In painting, staffage () are the human and animal figures depicted in a scene, especially a landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often c ...

in his landscapes. He wrote and published numerous articles on the history of Riga, Livonia,

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

, and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

—over 100 in total. His most significant work is the ten-volume “Collection of Various Livonian Monuments, Views, Coins, Coats of Arms, etc.” (''Sammlung verschiedener Liefländischer Monumente, Prospecte, Münzen, Wappen etc''.). It contains over 2,000 illustrated and described historical items, many of which no longer exist, making the collection a unique and invaluable resource for historians.

Works

*''Zeichnungen und deren Beschreibungen''

Books

* ''Sammlung verschiedener Liefländischer Monumente, Prospecte, Münzen, Wappen, etc.''

Gallery

File:Riga 1650.jpg, Panorama of Riga in 1650 File:Johann Christoph Brotze,"Sammlung Liefländischer Monumente. Wolkimberg.JPG File:A wagon by Brotze.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 15-22.jpg, People in the streets in Riga File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 72-79.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 61-67.jpg File:Russian candle seller by Brotze.jpg, Russian candle seller File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 55-58.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 23-31.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 41-48.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 6-14.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 35-40.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 90-94.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 80-83.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 1-5.jpg File:People in streets of Riga by Brotze 68-69.jpg File:Boys'-summer-clothes-in-Riga-by-Brotze.jpg, Boys' summer clothes in Riga File:Boys'-winter-clothes-in-Riga-by-Brotze.jpg, Boys' winter clothes in Riga

References

External links

*
Digital collection of Johann Christoph Brotze drawings at the Latvian Academic Library
1742 births 1823 deaths German draughtsmen 18th-century German educators German ethnographers German emigrants to the Russian Empire People from Görlitz People from the Electorate of Saxony Artists from Riga People from Livonia Leipzig University alumni University of Wittenberg alumni German male non-fiction writers {{Latvia-bio-stub