Johann Gottfried Tannauer, or Dannhauer (1680–1733–37) was a German painter, portraitist and miniaturist who worked in Russia after 1711.

Early life

He was born in 1680 in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Career

He began as a watchmaker in

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

, then studied music, but finally turned to painting and worked with

Sebastiano Bombelli Sebastiano Bombelli (October 1635; 4 May 1719) was an Italian painter, mainly active in Venice, during the Baroque period. Biography He was born in Udine on 14 or 15 October 1635 (baptized on the 15th), educated and trained under the guidance ...

in Venice. After that, he visited Holland, where he copied the works of

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

and decided to specialize in portraits.Brief biography and appreciation
by Y. Pelevin @ ArtClassics. While working in

Karlsbad Karlsbad may refer to: *Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (formerly known by its German name Karlsbad) *Karlsbad (Baden), Germany *Melluži Melluži is a residential area and neighbourhood in the city of Jūrmala, Latvia Latvia, officially the ...

, he was recommended to Tsar

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–68 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholicos ...

by the Czech painter,

Jan Kupecký Ján Kupecký or Jan Kupecký (in German: Johann Kupetzky, in Hungarian: Kupecky János, or Kupeczky János, 1667 – July 16, 1740) was a Czech portrait painter during the baroque. He was active in Hungary, Vienna and Nürnberg. Bernhard Vogel ...

. In 1710, he won an appointment as

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 ...

and, after arriving in

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, accompanied the Tsar on his travels during the

Pruth River Campaign The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

. This turned out badly for the Tsar and Tannauer, who lost all of his painting equipment. Upon settling in Saint Petersburg, he painted portraits of most of the members of the Royal Court, including

Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia Grand Duke Alexei Petrovich of Russia (28 February 1690 – 26 June 1718) was a Russian Tsarevich. He was born in Moscow, the son of Tsar Peter the Great, Peter I and his first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina. Alexei did not get along with his father ...

, and other distinguished persons, such as Count

Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (; 1645–1729) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, prominent during and after the reign of Peter the Great. He was the ancestor of all the Counts Tolstoy, including the novelist Leo Tolstoy (September 9 .S. Au ...

and Admiral

Fyodor Apraksin Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin (also ''Apraxin''; ; , Moscow) was one of the first Russian admirals, governed Estonia and Karelia from 1712 to 1723, was made general admiral (1708), presided over the Russian Admiralty from 1717 to 1728''GR ...

. He also did historical paintings and repaired watches as a hobby. Among his many portraits of the Tsar, the best-known are those showing him at the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

(which was used for a postage stamp in 2009) and on his deathbed. He also worked as a teacher during his tenure as court painter. Among those who studied with him, at least briefly, were Ivan Nikitin and

Pyotr Yeropkin Pyotr Mikhailovich Yeropkin (ca. 1698–1740) was a Russian architect credited with replanning Saint Petersburg after Peter the Great's death. It was Yeropkin who designed the famous Trident of the Nevsky, Voznesensky, and Gorokhovaya thoroughf ...

. After Peter's death, Tannauer remained in Russia until 1727, when he decided to go back to Germany. He made it only as far as Poland, then had a stroke. He returned to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and died there sometime between 1733 and 1737.Brief biography
@ RusArtNet.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tannauer, Johann Gottfried 1680 births 1730s deaths 18th-century German painters 18th-century German male artists German male painters German portrait painters Artists from Saxony Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire Immigrants to the Tsardom of Russia German court painters

Early life

Career

References

Further reading

External links