Joseph Anton Koch (27 July 1768 – 12 January 1839) was an Austrian painter of

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

and later the

German Romantic German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German var ...

movement; he is perhaps the most significant neoclassical landscape painter.

Biography

The

Tyrolese Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

painter was born in

Elbigenalp Elbigenalp is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of th ...

. Early in his life he was tending cattle. Through the recommendation of Bishop Umgelder (1785), he received academic training in the

Karlsschule Stuttgart Hohe Karlsschule (''Karl's High School'') was the strict military academy founded by Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg in Stuttgart, Germany. It was first founded in 1770 as a military orphanage, but then converted into a military academy in 1773 ...

, a strict military academy. In 1791, he ran away, and traveled through France and Switzerland. He arrived in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1795. Koch was close to the painter

Asmus Jacob Carstens Asmus Jacob Carstens (or "Jakob", May 10, 1754May 25, 1798) was a Danish-German painter, one of the most committed artists of German Neoclassicism. His career was erratic, partly because of his difficult personality, and the majority of his la ...

and carried on Carstens' "heroic" art, at first in a literal manner. He etched the pages of Carstens' ''Les Argonautes, selon Pindar, Orphée et Apollonius de Rhode'' (Rome, 1799). Waterfalls at Subiaco Joseph Anton Koch

After 1800, Koch developed as a landscape painter. In Rome, he espoused a new type of "heroic" landscape, revising the classical compositions of

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the Classicism, classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and ...

and

Lorrain Lorrain or Le Lorrain may refer to: People * Claude Lorrain (1600–1682), French Baroque painter, draughtsman and etcher born Claude Gellée, called le Lorrain in French * Dessamae Lorrain (1927–2011), American archaeologist * James Herbert Lo ...

with a more rugged, mountainous scenery. In 1812, forced through inadequate income from his work, or in protest of the French invasion, he went to Vienna, where he worked prolifically. He stayed in Vienna until 1815. During this period, he incorporated more non-classical themes in his work. In Vienna, he was influenced by

Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel ( ; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Roma ...

and enthusiasts of old German art. In response, his style became harsher. 1834 Koch Landschaft mit Bileam anagoria

Koch returned to Rome, and became a conspicuous figure in the German artists' colony there. He painted, among other works, the four

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es in the Dante Room of the Villa Massimi (1824–1829). His presence and personality had considerable influence among the younger generation in the art life of Rome, and his new approach had a wide influence on German landscape painters who visited Rome. He wrote ''Moderne Kunstchronik oder die rumfordische Suppe gekocht und geschrieben von J. A. Koch'' (Stuttgart, 1834) which was directed humorously against unjustifiable criticism and false connoisseurship. Koch's last years were spent in great poverty. He died in Rome, where he was buried in the

Teutonic Cemetery The Teutonic Cemetery (, "Camposanto of the Teutons and the Flemish") is a burial site in Rome adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica. Burial is reserved for members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of the German Cemetery, which owns the cemetery. It i ...

, located next to

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

within

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Works

* ''Landscape with Noah'', ca. 1803 – oil on canvas 6 × 116 cm(Städel Museum, Frankfurt) * ''Schmadribach Falls in the Lauterbach Valley'', 1811 * ''Noah's Sacrifice'', 1813 * ''Grimsel Pass'', 1813 * ''View in the Sabine Mountains'', 1813 * ''Monastery of San Francesco di Civitella'', 1814 *''Landscape with Ruth and Boaz'', ca. 1823/25 – oil on canvas *''Grindelwald Glacier in the Alps'', 1823,

National Museum in Wrocław The National Museum in Wrocław (), established 28 March 1947 and officially inaugurated on 11 July 1948, is one of Poland's main branches of the National Museum of Poland, National Museum system. It holds one of the largest collections of contemp ...

* ''View of Nauplia'', 1830 * ''View Near Subiaco'' * ''Macbeth and the Witches'' He etched 20 Italian landscapes and a large sheet representing ''The Oath of the French at Millesimo''; 14 pages after

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

, adding later another 30 pages (published Vicenza, 1904), and 36 pages after

Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...

. He contributed American landscape scenes to the works of

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

(1805). File:Joseph Anton Koch 006.jpg, ''Landscape with Noah'', c. 1803 File:Der Schmadribachfall, 1821-22.jpg, ''Der Schmadribachfall'', 1821 File:Joseph Anton Koch - Serpentaralandschaft mit Hirten und Rindern an der Quelle.jpg, ''Landscape with Shepherds and Cows and at the Spring'' File:Joseph Anton Koch - Heroic Landscape with Rainbow - WGA12230.jpg, ''Heroic Landscape with a Rainbow'' (1805). File:Koch, Joseph Anton — Landschaft bei Olevano mit reitendem Mönch — um 1830.JPG, ''Landschaft bei Olevano mit reitendem Mönch'', (1830) File:Josef Anton Koch (circle) Raub von Proserpina.jpg, ''Raub von Proserpina''

References

*Vaughan, William (1980). ''German Romantic Painting''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press; pp. 37–38. Attribution * *

External links

Works by Joseph Koch at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa''German masters of the nineteenth century: paintings and drawings from the Federal Republic of Germany''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Joseph Anton Koch (no. 38–40) {{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Joseph Anton 1768 births 1839 deaths 19th-century Austrian people 18th-century Austrian painters 18th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists Austrian landscape painters People from Reutte District Burials at the Teutonic Cemetery People educated at the Karlsschule Stuttgart Nazarene painters State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart alumni

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links