Carl von Imhoff
Christoph Adam Carl von Imhoff , called Carl von Imhoff (born October 3, 1734 in Mörlach (Hilpoltstein) , † August 9, 1788 in Munich ) was a career officer, colonial officer of the British East India Company and portrait painter of the 18th century .
Life
family
Christoph Adam Carl Freiherr von Imhoff was born on August 9, 1734 as the son of the Hesse-Kassel cavalry champion Christoph Albrecht Carl von Imhoff and his wife Maria Juliana Sophia von Calenberg on their father's estate Mörlach near Hilpoltstein. On February 2, 1775, Carl von Imhoff married Charlotte von Stein's younger sister , Luise Franziska Sophie von Schardt . The death of Carl von Imhoff in 1788 ended the divorce proceedings. The marriage had six children. Best known was the eldest daughter Amalie von Imhoff , born in 1776 , whose godfather was her friend Karl Ludwig von Knebel .
military service
Like his brothers Friedrich Wilhelm and Julius, Carl von Imhoff entered the service of the Württemberg Duke Karl Eugen as an officer . After the Treaty of Hubertusburg in 1763, the Württemberg army was successively reduced in size. Carl von Imhof, most recently with the rank of captain with a master guard's license with the ducal bodyguard on foot, which roughly corresponded to the rank of major, was dismissed on December 28, 1768.
Artist career in London
With unfulfilled salary claims, indebted and without military prospects, the artistically gifted Carl von Imhoff traveled with his lover Anna Maria (Marian) Apollonia Chapuset to London and turned to miniature portrait painting, which was in demand there. Imhoff's work was of a high quality. In April 1768 he was accepted into the annual exhibition of the London Society of Artists with a portrait of the Queen . In addition, Carl vom Imhoff works as a recognized and sought-after copyist of oil portraits.
Colonial officer in Madras
The considerable initial successes did not satisfy Carl von Imhoff sufficiently. With letters of recommendation from his customers, he received a cadet patent from the British East India Company in 1769 during the presidency of Madras . He started the sea voyage to Madras in March 1769, accompanied by his lover Marian Chapuset and their two and a half year old son Carl on the Duke of Grafton . The sea voyage became a turning point in Imhoff's life, as Warren Hastings had booked the same passage as a new member of the Madras government. Hastings fell under the charms of Madame Chapuset on the journey. In the course of the following months, Carl von Imhoff received substantial financial compensation from Hastings for his agreement and cooperation. Officially, Madame Chapuset was considered the wife of Imhoff. The couple lived together in Madras until at least 1770. The legal status of the relationship seems dubious and open to this day, as important documents and entries have disappeared and were probably replaced by falsified ones out of the interests of those involved. Carl von Imhoff continued to work as a miniature and oil portrait painter in Madras. His letters and travelogues from this period are of particular cultural and historical interest.
Return to Mörlach
In the summer of 1774, Carl von Inhoff, accompanied by two Indian boys, returned to the family estate in Mörlach as servants. Carl von Imhoff told his brothers about the immense wealth he had acquired in Madras, which he wanted to transfer to Mörlach in the coming months. Carl von Imhoff took over the family estate and immediately began building Mörlach Castle based on the English model. In an unusual hurry he went to look for a bride. On January 16, 1775 he became engaged to the Gotha court lady Luise Franziska Sophie von Schardt. The marriage was concluded on the following February 2nd. As the younger sister of Charlotte von Stein, Luise Franziska had good connections in Weimar . These relationships were strained in the following months, as von Imhoff had not only taken on the construction of the palace. The alleged sums from India were at least largely absent. At the same time, reports about the Imhoff-Chapuset-Hastings triangular relationship caused considerable irritation. In this situation, citing a letter from Duke Karl August, a letter of divorce and other papers were obtained in Calcutta , which declared Imhoff's marriage to Maria Anna Chapuset on July 12, 1777 for divorce. Some irregularities in the Duke's letter and the fact that Imhoff's marital relationship may never have existed make the letters appear to be contemporary forgeries. Since Imhoff's consequence of the obscure documents is bigamy , their intention remains a mystery.
Carl von Imhoff drew and etched in Mörlach. Mostly he made drawings and etchings based on the events of his trip to India. Inspired by Johann Kaspar Lavater's postulate the more moral the more beautiful, he made exaggerated portraits of his relatives. This led to the fact that he was listed in the artist directories of the 19th century as an amateur Nuremberg citizen.
Relocation to Weimar
The couple's debts and family relationships motivated the couple to move from Imhoff to Weimar in 1785. At the instigation of Frau von Stein, the insolvent couple received covert payments and alimony from the Duke's box. The daughter Amalie was born as the first child in Weimar in 1776. The house of the Imhoff family became the meeting point and quarters for Weimar society and its visitors. In July 1787, Schiller was admitted to the Imhoff's house, coming from Dresden. At Schiller's request, Charlotte von Lengefeld was temporarily admitted in February 1788 , which gave Schiller the opportunity of discreet visits. Carl von Inhoff continued to work as a miniature and portrait painter. To do this, he switched to etching. Economically and professionally, however, he was unable to gain a foothold in Weimar. Trips to London and requested support from the former lover were also unsuccessful.
In 1788 the broken marriage faced separation. However, Carl von Imhoff died unexpectedly on August 9, 1788 on a trip to Munich, where he was staying with the cafetier Giovanni Pietro Sarti. His grave has not been preserved. Presumably he was buried in the old southern cemetery.
Works
Printmaking
- Portrait by Warren Hastings with five Indian scenes, engraving after 1774.
- Half-length figure of a young woman (Franzisca Louise von Imhoff?), Etching, reversed, dated: August 29, 1775.
- Portrait of brother-in-law Ludwig Wilhelm von Streit, etching 1777.
- Portrait and expression studies, etching around 1780.
- Franziska Louise von Imhoff, miniature etching, around 1784.
- Reading girl, etching undated.
Drawings and paintings
- Portrait of a miniature lady inscribed ES, 1768, Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
- Louise von Imhoff and Charlotte von Stein, bracelets with gouaches on ivory in a brass setting, after 1775.
- Self-portrait, gouache on ivory, around 1776.
- Daughter Amalie, miniature on ivory, around 1780.
- Carl Ludwig von Knebel, miniature, watercolor on ivory, around 1780.
- Sheet with Mörlacher portrait studies, including the daughter Amalie, pen, 1783.
- Daughter Amalie and her cousin, miniature on ivory 1784.
- Frau von Imhoff and her children, miniature on ivory, around 1785.
literature
- Gerhard Koch: Imhoff India Driver - A travelogue from the 18th century in letters and pictures . Wallstein, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-89244-483-8 .
- Rheka Kahmat Rajan: Where the pepper grows - Christoph Adam Carl von Imhoff's trip to India , files of the XI. International Congress of Germanists Paris 2005, Volume 9. Peter Lang, 2007, p. 61.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerhard Koch: The divorce judgment in Imhoff India driver: A travel report from the 18th century in letters and pictures , Wallstein Verlag, 2001, p. 248
- ^ Gerhard Koch: Imhoff India Driver: A travel report from the 18th century in letters and pictures , Wallstein Verlag, 2001, p. 24f.
- ↑ Charlotte von Stein to Luise von Imhoff, letter of August 22, 1785, partially printed in: Ernst Grumach, Renate Grumach: Goethe encounters and conversations: 1777–1785, Walter de Gruyter, 1965, p. 542
- ↑ Lutz Unbehaun: Schiller's secret love - The poet in Rudolstadt, Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2009, p. 116
- ↑ Lutz Unbehaun: Schiller's secret love - The poet in Rudolstadt, Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2009, p. 115
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Imhoff, Carl von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Imhoff, Christoph Adam Carl von (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Professional officer, colonial officer of the British East India Company and portrait painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 3, 1734 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mörlach (Hilpoltstein) |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 9, 1788 |
| Place of death | Munich |