Wilhelm August Rudolf Lehmann (19 August 1819, near

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

– 27 October 1905, in

Bushey Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. It had a population of 25,328 in the 2011 census, rising to 28,416 in the 2021 census, an increase of 12.19%. This makes Bushey the second most populated town ...

) was a German-born British portraitist and author. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1866.

Life

Lehmann family grave in Highgate Cemetery

Lehmann was born in

Ottensen Ottensen () (old name: Ottenhusen) is a former town located in Hamburg, Germany in the Altona borough on the right bank of the Elbe river. It is a now one of the 104 quarters of Hamburg. History The first record of Ottensen dates from 1310. ...

(now part of

) in the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (; ) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy ...

, the son of painter Leo Lehmann. The Lehmann family was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. He and his elder brother

Henri Lehmann Henri Lehmann (; 14 April 1814 – 30 March 1882) was a German-born French historical painter and portraitist. Life Born Heinrich Salem Lehmann in Kiel, in the Duchy of Holstein, he received his first art tuition from his father Leo Lehmann ...

studied in Paris at the

École des Beaux-arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

, in Rome, and with the painters

Peter von Cornelius Peter von Cornelius (23 September 1783, Düsseldorf – 6 March 1867, Berlin) was a German Painting, painter; one of the main representatives of the Nazarene movement. He was the uncle of the composer Peter Cornelius (1824–1874). Life Earl ...

and

Wilhelm von Kaulbach Wilhelm von Kaulbach (15 October 18057 April 1874) was a Germans, German painter, noted mainly as a muralist, but also as a book illustrator. His murals decorate buildings in Munich. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Bio ...

. Lehmann's major painting, ''The Blessing of the Pontine Marshes by Sixtus V'' was shown in Paris in 1846 and bought by the French government. In 1866 Lehmann settled in London, became a British citizen, and painted his best-known portraits. He married Amelia Chambers, daughter of the Scot author and naturalist Robert Chambers. Amelia's sister Nina married Lehmann's younger brother Frederick, and the extended social circle of the two couples included

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...

Lord Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classi ...

, and other prominent figures. In 1896, a number of his engraved portraits were collected and published as ''Men and Women of the Century''. Lehmann's memoir was published in 1894 as
An Artist's Reminiscences
'. He died at his home, Boumemede,

, on 27 October 1905 and was buried in the east side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

. His daughter, Liza was later buried with him.

Family

One of Lehmann's daughters was Liza Lehmann, who became a notable English

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and composer. Lehmann was the uncle of the British journalist and politician Rudolf Chambers Lehmann.

Gallery

Leo Lehmann 2.jpg, Rudolf Lehmann, ''Leo Lehmann'' (1851;

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

). Portrait of the artist's father. Portrait de Miss Emily Leo (1849) - Rudolf Lehmann.jpg, Portrait of Miss Emily Leo by Wilhelm August Rudolf Lehmann (1849). Musée d’arts de Nantes, France

References

External links

Portraits
by Rudolf Lehmann at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Drawings
by Lehmann in the British Museum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Rudolf 1819 births 1905 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery People from Altona, Hamburg People from the Duchy of Holstein British alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts English people of German descent Immigrants to the United Kingdom Lehmann family 19th-century English painters English male painters 20th-century English painters 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists