Carl August Schwerdgeburth
Carl August Schwerdgeburth (born August 9, 1785 in Dresden , † October 25, 1878 in Weimar ) was an engraver and painter.
Life
He was court copper engraver for the Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and father of the painter Otto Schwerdgeburth . His most famous works are a copper engraving by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and a steel engraving cycle about the life of Martin Luther .
The engraving by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the last portrait of Goethe created after life. The drawing on which it is based was completed during Goethe's lifetime and also accepted by Goethe. The engraving was not finished until after Goethe's death. Goethe visited Schwerdgeburth in Tannroda on August 31, 1831, on his last trip home from Ilmenau to Weimar .
The cycle about Martin Luther contains an engraving which shows Luther in his living room in Wittenberg with his family under a Christmas tree. This picture from 1856 became the source of the legend that Luther was the inventor of the Christmas tree.
For all members of the Schwerdgeburth family , wrong dates of life and wrong names are given to certain portraits in many sources. The reason for this, in addition to negligence, is the fact that a half-sister of Carl August Schwerdgeburth with the first name Charlotte Amalia (1795–1831) was also a painter and had the same initials as her half-brother.
He is buried in the historical cemetery in Weimar .
literature
- Franz Vallentin: Schwerdtgeburth, Karl August . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 54, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1908, p. 286.
- Christina Florack-Kröll (Ed.): Carl August Schwerdgeburth, the Weimar draftsman for his 200th birthday: [Exhibition] August 4th-1st. September 1985. Goethe Museum, Düsseldorf 1985.
- Sigrid Nagy: A tree grew in paradise. How Luther got to the Christmas tree in the 19th century. Wartburg-Verl., Weimar 2003, ISBN 3-86160-152-4 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Carl August Schwerdgeburth in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schwerdgeburth, Carl August |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Engraver and painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 9, 1785 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dresden |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 25, 1878 |
| Place of death | Weimar |