Johann Heinrich (a.k.a. John Henry) Ramberg (22 July 1763 – 6 July 1840) was a German painter and printmaker. Ramberg was born at

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 ...

to a father who fostered his artistic talent. He first showed his talent by drawings of scenes in the

Harz Mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...

. These became known to George III, King of Great Britain, his sovereign, since he was also

Elector of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover ( or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from the Principality of Calenberg. Although formally known as the Electorate of Brunswick-Lünebur ...

. In 1781 he was introduced to George III and made "many humorous sketches and caricatures" for him.Graves, R. E. and Annette Peach. "Johann Heinrich Ramberg". ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

''. Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved on 6 February 2008. George induced Ramberg to go to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he provided support. Ramberg may have been a student of

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

and

Francesco Bartolozzi __NOTOC__ Francesco Bartolozzi (21 September 1727 – 7 March 1815) was an Italian engraver, whose most productive period was spent in London. He is noted for popularizing the "crayon" method of engraving. Early life Bartolozzi was born in Flo ...

; in November 1781, he studied with

Benjamin West Benjamin West (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as ''The Death of Nelson (West painting), The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the ''Treaty of Paris ( ...

at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

Schools. In 1782 he began exhibiting at the Royal Academy and in 1784 he was awarded a silver medal for his life drawing. In 1784 Ramberg drew the exhibition itself, showing Reynolds and the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, as well as several other pieces. According to the ''

'', " ese works are of interest to historians for their record of exhibitions in the Great Room of the Royal Academy in the late eighteenth century." In 1788, Ramberg visited the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and then returned to Hanover in 1792, where he was appointed electoral

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 ...

. While court painter he periodically took on students, including John Fischer. He painted the curtain of the court theater in Hanover in 1789. He met the German author

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 ...

in 1790–91 and painted ''Alexander Crossing the Granicus'' as a decoration for

Carlton House Carlton House, sometimes Carlton Palace, was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of George IV, during the regency era and his time as prince regent, before he took the throne as king. It faced the south side of Pall M ...

. He was also a book illustrator, participating in John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, for example, and Thomas Macklin's Poets' Gallery. He painted

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

of members of the British royal family: the princesses Mary, Elizabeth, and Sophia. He illustrated German almanacs and pocketbooks for over 20 years, but according to the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' "his best illustrations are those which he himself etched for the narrative cycles Reineke Fuchs and Tyll Eulenspiegel, both published in 1826". He became one of the most well known illustrators in Germany. He did the drawings for a deluxe edition of Wieland's works. Ramberg died at Hanover and was buried in the Gartenkirchhof.

Notes

External links

J. H. Ramberg as Illustrator of Books
A Digital Bibliography and Catalogue of Illustrations (in progress; in English and German)

Literature

* Alexander Košenina (Hrsg.): Literatur – Bilder. Johann Heinrich Ramberg als Buchillustrator der Goethezeit. Wehrhahn Verlag, Hannover 2013, . * Greiffenegg und Ramberg: eine Freundschaft in Zeichnungen. Ausstellungskatalog, Haus der Graphischen Sammlung im Augustinermuseum 8. Juli 2017 - 3. Oktober 2017 / herausgegeben von Felix Reuße für die Städtischen Museen Freiburg, Augustinermuseum. * Johann Heinrich Ramberg / Dietrich Wilhelm Soltau: Reineke Fuchs – Reynard the Fox. 31 Originalzeichnungen und neu kolorierte Radierungen mit Auszügen aus der deutschen Übersetzung des Epos im populären Stil v. Soltau , 31 original drawings and newly colored etchings with excerpts from the English translation of the burlesque poem by Soltau. Hrsg. Waltraud Maierhofer. VDG, Weimar 2016. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramberg, Johann 1763 births 1840 deaths German artists German court painters 18th-century German painters