Johann Joseph Neidl (20 March 177631 August 1832) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

engraver,

coppersmith A coppersmith, also known as a brazier, is a person who makes artifacts from copper and brass. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The term "redsmith" is used for a tinsmith that uses tinsmithing tools and techniques to make copper items. Hi ...

, and printmaker who was active in Frankfurt, Vienna, and Munich.Le Blanc, C. (1888). Manuel de l'amateur d'estampes: Melchiori-Szymonowitx, 1858-88. France: É. Bouillon.

Early life and education

Johann Joseph (or Josef) Neidl was born and christened on 20 March 1776 in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

(now

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

).Collections Online , British Museum. (2024). Britishmuseum.org; British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG242088 Born into a servant's family, he apprenticed as a

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

while dedicating his spare time to drawing and carefully replicating copperplate engravings. Under the patronage of Count Wieser, he was sent to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

for formal training with the German engraver Johann Gottlieb Prestel. Studying

copperplate engraving Intaglio ( ; ) is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink. It is the direct opposite of a relief print where the parts of the matrix that m ...

under Prestel, he resided in

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 ...

. After the French invasion of Germany, his patron moved him to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where Neidl visited galleries and honed his drawing skills. In 1793, the count sent him to

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

to study with Johannes Gottlieb Glauber. After the death of his patron in 1794, Neidl returned to Munich, attended the academy, and continued his studies under Glauber.Wastler, J. (1883). Steirisches Künstler-Lexicon. Austria: Leykam.

Career

Neidl went to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(then the capital of the

) and set up an art shop at the turn of the 18th century. He specialized in copper engravings, and he also ventured into foreign markets. In Vienna in 1799, he engraved a portrait of Archduke Karl of Austria after a painting by

Joseph Kreutzinger Joseph Kreutzinger (10 January 1757 – 14 July 1829) was an Austrian painter and engraver. Kreutzinger was born in Vienna. He was a pupil of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and specialized in portraits. Kreutzinger was later appointed Imperi ...

. He was commissioned to do stipple engraving for the music publishing firm of Artaria & Co. Around 1800, Neidl created a

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 ...

portrait of Haydn for Artaria. He also engraved a portrait of Italian composer

Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...

, published by Artaria in Vienna, around 1800. He went on to contribute several actor portraits to the theater

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

s published by Wallishauser in

. In 1802, Neidl produced an engraving of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

after a drawing by Gandolph Ernst Stainhauser. Neidl later engraved a portrait of German composer

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

based on a painting by

Joseph Lange Joseph Lange (Würzburg, Holy Roman Empire 1 April 1751 – Vienna, 17 September 1831) was an actor and amateur painter of the 18th century. Through his marriage to Aloysia Weber, he was the brother-in-law of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Life ...

in 1804. Alongside his other works, Neidl published a drawing book for ladies, inspired by the drawings of Füger and Caucig. Some of Neidl's prints are preserved in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

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 ...

Death

Johann Joseph Neidl died on 31 August 1832 in Pest,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

.Oettinger, E. M., Schramm-Macdonald, H., Kesselmeyer, K. A. (1871). Moniteur des dates: Biographisch-genealogisch-historisches welt-register enthaltend die personal-akten der menschheit, d. h. den heimaths- und geburts-schein, den heirathsakt und todestag von mehr als 100,000 geschichtlichen persönlichkeiten aller zeiten und nationen von erschaffung der welt bis auf den heutigen tag, mit zahlreich eingestreuten noten aus allen zweigen der curiosität. Germany: L. Denicke.

Gallery

Ludwig van Beethoven, aged twenty-six (1796).jpg,

Maria Antonia Königin von Frankreich - Etampe 1790-93.jpg,

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

Franz Krommer passport.jpg,

Franz Krommer Franz Krommer (; 27 November 1759 – 8 January 1831) was a Czech composer of classical music and violinist. He was one of the most popular composers in 19th-century Vienna alongside Beethoven, whom he knew. Today he is mostly known for his clari ...

Neidl Portrait of János Kis 1816.jpg, János Kis Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia by Neidl after Kreutzinger (1799).jpg,

Alexandra Pavlovna Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia (: – ) was a daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and sister of emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. She married Archduke Joseph of Austria, Palatine of Hungary. Her marriage was the only Romanov- ...

Neidl after Kreutzinger - Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress.png,

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

WP Josef Georg Hörl.jpg,

Josef Georg Hörl Josef Georg Hörl (22 August 1722 – 9 December 1806) was an Austrian lawyer, serving as mayor of Vienna from 1773 to 1804. He is also considered to be the longest-serving mayor of Vienna. He was a supporter of Mozart during the composers ten yea ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neidl, Johann Josef 1769 births 1832 deaths People from Graz 18th-century male artists 18th-century Austrian engravers Austrian printmakers