Johann Peter Krafft (15 September 1780,

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- 28 October 1856,

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. ...

) was a

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-born

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painter who specialized in portraits, historical works, and

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes.

Early life and education

His father was an enamel painter who originally came from a family of wine merchants in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. His brother, Joseph Krafft (1786-1828), also became a painter of

portrait miniatures A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

. By the age of ten, Krafft was already attending a drawing school. In 1799, he and sister were sent to live with an aunt in

, where he immediately enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied history painting with Heinrich Friedrich Füger. In 1802, he travelled to Paris with

Veit Hanns Schnorr von Carolsfeld Veit Hanns Friedrich Schnorr von Carolsfeld (11 May 1764 – 30 April 1841) was a Germans, German portraitist. Life Schnorr was born in Schneeberg, Saxony, Schneeberg, to Councillor and excise inspector in Schneeberg Johann Gottlob Schnorr von ...

to continue his studies. There, he made the acquaintance of

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

and

François Gérard François Pascal Simon Gérard (, 4 May 1770 – 11 January 1837), titled as Baron Gérard in 1809, was a French painter. He was born in Rome, where his father occupied a post in the house of the French ambassador, and his mother was Italian. A ...

, who had a major influence on his style.

Career

Krafft returned to Vienna in 1805, where he established himself as a portrait painter. From 1808 to 1809, he went on a study trip through

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 became a member of the Academy in 1813. Two years later, he married Juliana Preisinger, and three of their children became painters: Marie (1812–1885), Albrecht (1816–1847) and Julie (1821–1903). He was appointed a Professor at the Academy in 1823. In 1828, he was named Director of the Galerie Belvedere, a position he held until his death. He became an Academic Counselor in 1835. Over the next few years, he travelled to Munich, Dresden and Venice, where he purchased 80 works for the museum. He was also employed as an expert on the preservation of monuments, working at Karlstein Castle,

Schönbrunn Palace Schönbrunn Palace (Austrian German, German: Schloss Schönbrunn ) was the main summer residence of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning "beautiful spring") ha ...

and the Jesuit Church.

Death and legacy

Krafft died on 20 October 1856 and was buried at the

Vienna Central Cemetery The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest Cemetery, cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's big ...

. In 1885, a street in the

Leopoldstadt Leopoldstadt (; ; "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal district of Vienna () in Austria. there are 103,233 inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th district), forms a large island surrou ...

district of the city was named after him.

Selected paintings

File:Princesse de Salerne.jpeg, Archduchess Clementina of Austria File:Johann Peter Krafft - Der Abschied des Landwehrmannes - 2242 - Kunsthistorisches Museum.jpg, '' The Departure of the Militiaman'', 1813 File:Portrait of Napoléon II attributed to Johann Peter Krafft.png, Portrait of Napoléon II, 1818, private collection File:Johann Peter Krafft - Die Heimkehr des Landwehrmannes - 2243 - Kunsthistorisches Museum.jpg, ''The Homecoming of the Militiaman'', 1820 File:Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, with his Staff at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, 21–22 May 1809 (by Johann Peter Krafft, 1838).jpg, '' The Battle of Aspern-Essling'', 1820 File:Krafft, Peter - Zrínyi's Charge from the Fortress of Szigetvár - Google Art Project.jpg, The

Siege of Szigetvár The siege of Szigetvár or the Battle of Szigeth (pronunciation: �siɡɛtvaːr ; ; ) was an Ottoman siege of the fortress of Szigetvár in the Kingdom of Hungary. The fort had blocked Sultan Suleiman's line of advance towards Vienna in 156 ...

, 1825 File:Johann Peter Krafft - Der Einzug von Kaiser Franz I. in Wien nach dem Pariser Frieden am 16. Juni 1814 - 6247 - Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.jpg, '' The Entry of Emperor Francis I into Vienna After the Peace of Paris'', 1828 File:Declaration of victory after the Battle of Leipzig, 1813 (by Johann Peter Krafft).jpg, '' The Declaration of Victory After the Battle of Leipzig'', 1839 File:Johann Peter Krafft - Equestrian Portrait of Franz I - WGA12272.jpg, Equestrian portrait of Franz I

References

Constantin von Wurzbach Constantin Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (11 April 1818 – 17 August 1893) was an Austrian biographer, lexicographer and author. Biography He was born in Laibach, Carniola (present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia).He later went on to complete a cou ...

: Krafft, Peter. In: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich''. 13. Theil. Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1865, pp. 106–11
(Online)
* *

External links