Robert Theer (5 November 1808, Johannesberg – 15 July 1863,

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 painter and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

from the Austrian Empire. He is primarily remembered as a miniaturist.

Life and work

He was born to (née Junker), an

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

designer, and Joseph Theer, a

gemcutter Lapidary () is the practice of shaping stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems (including cameos), and faceted designs. A person who practices lapidary techniques of cutting, grinding, and polishin ...

. Both of his younger brothers,

Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...

and

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

, also became painters. In 1820, his family moved from

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

to Vienna.Adolf Kettner, "Die Künstlerfamilie Theer", in: ''Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kulturgeschichte Österreichisch-Schlesiens'', Vol.6, #3, 1911
Online)
/ref> He displayed a talent for drawing at an early age, and was sent to the

Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

. There, he attended the

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

school from 1821 to 1824, and was tutored by

Josef Klieber Josef Klieber (1 November 1773, Innsbruck - 11 January 1850, Vienna) was an Austrian painter and sculptor. Life and work His father, , was a church sculptor and gave him his first art lessons. In 1785, he began attending the drawing school in ...

. From 1823 to 1829, he studied

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and B ...

. He eventually specialized in portrait miniatures and was influenced by

Moritz Michael Daffinger Moritz Michael Daffinger (25 January 1790 – 21 August 1849) was an Austrian miniature painter and sculptor. Life Daffinger was born in Vienna, the son of Johann Daffinger (1748–1796), a painter at the local Vienna Porcelain Manuf ...

. By the age of sixteen, he opened his own studio. He soon attracted an upper-class clientele. He exhibited at the Academy from 1828, and became a member there in 1843. The painter, , was one of his students. His portraits, mostly done on

vitreous enamel Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by melting, fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitrification, vitreous coating. The wo ...

and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

, numbered in the thousands. Occasionally, he would recreate the portraits as lithographs. A notable instance is that of the Emperor Ferdinand I, whose face was reproduced on over 150

snuff box A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are u ...

es. He also made copies of the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

. His earnings were spent on acquiring a private art collection and acting as a patron to his underemployed artist friends. For example, he commissioned the engraver, Joseph Steinmüller (1795-1841) to create an intricate copy of the " Madonna del Prato" by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

. The increasing popularity of the

daguerrotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, t ...

decreased his income, however, and left him unable to meet his obligations. He attempted to counter this trend by changing his style and introducing non-realistic elements, but this failed to slow his gradual impoverishment. He died at the age of fifty-four and was buried in the

Wiener Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest 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 biggest cemet ...

References

External links

More works by Theer
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Theer, Robert 1808 births 1863 deaths Painters from the Austrian Empire Austrian portrait painters 19th-century Austrian lithographers Portrait miniaturists People from Javorník

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links