Ludovike Simanowiz - Selbstbildnis mit wehendem Haar

Kunigunde Sophie Ludovike Simanowiz (née Reichenbach; February 21, 1759,

Schorndorf Schorndorf () is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located approximately 26 km east of Stuttgart. Its train station is the terminus of the S2 line of the Stuttgart S-Bahn. The town is also sometimes referred to as ' (''The Daimler T ...

- September 3, 1827,

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...

) was a German portrait painter in the Classical style.

Biography

Her father was a military

feldsher A feldsher (, , , , , , ) is a health care professional who provides various medical services limited to emergency treatment and ambulance practice. As such, a feldsher is one kind of mid-level medical practitioner. In Russia, Ukraine and in ...

and her mother was the daughter of a pharmacist. She was born in the barracks where her father was employed. In 1762, her family moved to Ludwigsburg, where she grew up with

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

and his sisters.*

Christophine Christophine is a feminine given name primarily of English origin but also with African and Latin roots. The name derives from Saint Christopher. Notable people with the name include: Real *Christophine Mutharika (died 1990), wife of politician ...

, who was the first to recognize Friedrich's talent, became her life-long friend. Her family appreciated her artistic talent and made every effort to promote her career. The Ducal Academy in Ludwigsburg and the Hohe Karlsschule in Stuttgart would not admit women but, in 1776, a professor at the Karlsschule, Nicolas Guibal, agreed to give her private lessons. Friedrich Schiller by Ludovike Simanowiz

Friedrich Schiller by Ludovike Simanowiz

In 1787, with the financial support of Duke Carl Eugen and his mistress, Franziska von Hohenheim, she was able to travel to Paris and study with the miniaturist, Antoine Vestier. She remained for almost two years, then received a commission to paint portraits for Duke Friedrich Eugen, Carl's brother, in Mömpelgard (now

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

). These portraits were never completed, however, as she returned to Stuttgart in 1789 to marry Lieutenant Franz Simanowiz, an old classmate of Schiller's, who had been her fiancé since 1786. Her letters from that time indicate that she missed Paris and, despite the unsettled conditions arising from the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, she took the opportunity to return when her husband was called off on a troop deployment. Once there, she was able to stay with an old friend from Stuttgart, the opera singer, Helena Balletti, who had since married a marquis. In 1792, her situation became precarious when her hosts were subjected to searches by monarchist sympathizers and were forced to flee to the marquis' estate in Spain. Simanowiz remained behind, was interrogated, and denied a passport to go home. Early in 1793, her friend helped her escape to Normandy where she was given a passport. When she arrived in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, she was seriously ill and spent six weeks in bed, tended by friends. Charlotte von Lengefeld - Simanowiz

When she finally got back to Ludwigsburg, she began by painting portraits of the Schiller family. Her portraits of Friedrich and his wife Charlotte were done while he was spending some time at home to work on ''

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

''. In 1798 her husband, now a Captain, was transferred to Stuttgart and she joined him there. The following year, he suffered a stroke that paralyzed his legs. She would be his nurse for the next twenty-eight years. In 1812, they returned to Ludwigsburg. Her eldest brother, Friedrich, was a pastor in nearby Erdmannhausen and they would often attend political meetings there to express solidarity with those who were fighting Napoleon. Franz died in June 1827 and she followed a few months later. She completed approximately 100 portraits (none signed), most of which are in private collections. There is a memorial to her in the Municipal Museum of Schorndorf. One of her nephews was the well-known scientist,

Carl Reichenbach Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach (; February 12, 1788January 19, 1869), known as Carl Reichenbach, was a German chemist, geologist, metallurgist, naturalist, industrialist and philosopher, and a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He ...

References

External links

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@ the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach.
Timeline
@ Kulturforum Schorndorf. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simanowiz, Ludovike 1759 births 1827 deaths 18th-century German women artists 18th-century German painters 19th-century German painters German portrait painters People from Schorndorf 18th-century German women painters 19th-century German women painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links