Georg Oswald May

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Johann Wolfgang Goethe on an oil painting by Georg Oswald May, 1779

Georg Oswald May (born January 24, 1738 in Offenbach am Main ; † July 12, 1816 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German painter who is particularly known as a portrait painter .

Live and act

The son of the silk stocking weaver Johann Georg May and his wife Anna Maria, b. Geißer, began studying painting in Offenbach in 1759, according to Meusel "with a minor painter". He then continued his education in the galleries in Mannheim and Düsseldorf and at that time copied in particular the works of famous painters such as Rubens and van Dyck .

May, who painted in oils and pastels , earned a reputation as a portrait painter. He worked in Offenbach, Ansbach , Bayreuth , Weimar , Würzburg and Greiz . In addition to important bourgeois personalities, many aristocrats had themselves painted by him, including the last Margrave of Ansbach Karl Alexander and his wife in full-length .

In 1779 he portrayed Johann Wolfgang Goethe twice . Most of his numerous, mostly unsigned works have been lost. Besides being a portrait painter, he is known as the creator of the altar paintings in the pilgrimage church of the Assumption of Mary in Oggersheim . They show the alms donation of St. Elisabeth and St. Joseph with the baby Jesus.

In 1783 he married Antoinette Elisabeth André (1745–1815), daughter of the Offenbach silk manufacturer Marc André. May lived in Offenbach until 1815 and after the death of his wife moved to live with his son-in-law in Frankfurt am Main. In Offenbach the Georg-Oswald-May-Weg is named after him.

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personal data
SURNAME May, Georg Oswald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German portrait painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1738
PLACE OF BIRTH Offenbach am Main
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 1816
Place of death Frankfurt am Main