Martin Ferdinand Quadal (born ; 28 October 1736 – 10 January 1811) was a Moravian-Austrian painter and engraver. Quadal is a representative of the Austrian school of painting, working all across Europe in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 ...

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 ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

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 ...

, France, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Life

Quadal was born in

Měrovice nad Hanou Měrovice nad Hanou is a municipality and village in Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. Měrovice nad Hanou lies approximately south-west of Přerov, south of Olomouc, and east of Prague. ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

in 1736. He came 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 ...

at an early age. He then studied painting and sculpture at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in

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. ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Academy. He became a student of Francois Boucher in 1767. He was also employed by Louis Joseph, Prince de Conde and was particularly successful in France for his paintings of horses. The painter visited France and Italy, worked at Vienna in 1787–9. He came to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

in 1797 upon the invitation of

Emperor Paul I Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules that lasted ...

and lived there until 1804. After a second visit to London, he returned to St. Petersburg, where he died in 1811.

Works

Quadal painted animal pieces, as well as military scenes, genre subjects,

still life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, human-m ...

s, and portraits. In 1779, he relocated to Dublin where he completed several paintings with animal subjects, and a number of these were brought by the

Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...

for the use of its students. These included ''Studies of Dogs'', ''Studies of Boars, Bears, Deer and Wolves'', ''Leopards’ Heads'', ''Deer’s Heads'', ''Heads of Wolves'', and ''Owls'', ''Squirrels and Guinea Pigs'', all of which are now in the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of t ...

. During this period, he also painted a portrait of Richard, 4^{^th} Viscount Powerscourt, which is currently housed at Powerscourt. From Dublin he went to London, where he exhibited four works at the Society of Artists in 1791. He etched a ''Group of Cats'', a ''Child with a Dog'', and ''Studies from Domestic and Wild Animals'' (London, 1793). He then visited France and Italy, lived and worked in Vienna in 1787–9, and in St. Petersburg in 1797–1804. He became the master of the Academy of St. Petersburg. Quadal's works are also displayed at the

Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

, the

State Hermitage The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

, and the

State Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...

. Notable paintings by Quadal include a 1788 portrait of

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

with Archduke Franz; a self-portrait that is now in the

RISD Museum The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD Museum) is an art museum integrated with the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, Rhode Island, US. The museum was co-founded with the school in 1877. It is the 20th-largest art m ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

; portraits of Anna Elisabeth van Tuyl van Seeroskerken and

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (; 2 July 1724 – 14 March 1803) was a German poet. His best known works are the epic poem ''Der Messias'' ("The Messiah") and the poem ''Die Auferstehung'' ("The Resurrection"), with the latter set to text in the ...

; a portrait of the Grand Duchess Maria, daughter of Tsar Paul I, that is now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

; and an 1807 portrait of Prince Nikolay Ivanovich Saltykov that is now in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quadal, Martin Ferdinand 1736 births 1811 deaths 18th-century Austrian painters 18th-century Austrian male artists Austrian male painters 19th-century Austrian painters 19th-century Austrian male artists 18th-century Austrian engravers 19th-century Austrian engravers 19th-century Austrian sculptors Austrian people of Moravian-German descent Austrian people of Czech descent Expatriates in the Russian Empire People from Prostějov District Moravian-German people Equine artists