Johann Anton August Weitsch

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Johann Anton August Weitsch , also called Anton Weitsch , (born January 17, 1762 in Braunschweig , † March 17, 1841 ibid) was a German painter and museum inspector.

Life

He began his training as a painter with his father Pascha Johann Friedrich Weitsch . In November 1778 he appeared in the role of Abraham in the musical drama Abraham auf Moria (by Johann Heinrich Rolle and August Hermann Niemeyer ) as a singer. Together with his older brother Friedrich Georg , he then attended the Düsseldorf Academy . A scholarship from Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand made it possible for both brothers to go on a study trip to Italy from 1784 to 1787. On the return trip, Weitsch stayed in Vienna for some time to copy pictures. After his return to Braunschweig he worked as a miniature painter for the Stobwassersche lacquerware factory.

Gallery inspector in Salzdahlum

On August 17, 1803, he was appointed gallery inspector of the ducal picture gallery in Salzdahlum Castle as the successor to his deceased father . During the Napoleonic occupation of the duchy, Weitsch experienced the dissolution of the collection in 1807. 290 pictures by Denon were brought to Paris as looted art, 200 paintings came to Kassel and 200 were donated by King Jérôme of Westphalia to the museum in Braunschweig. About 400 pictures were auctioned publicly, far below their value. After the Salzdahlum Palace was demolished in 1813, Weitsch went to Braunschweig as a museum inspector, where he was arrested on April 23 as a political suspect, imprisoned in Kassel, but pardoned at the beginning of May.

Museum inspector in Braunschweig

The works of art brought to Kassel returned to Braunschweig in 1814 after the dissolution of the Kingdom of Westphalia . Weitsch traveled to Paris in 1815 with the Brunswick court advisor and museum director Emperius and accompanied the return of the abducted paintings. The art collection was housed in the Pauline monastery in Braunschweig and looked after by Weitsch as museum inspector. Until his retirement in 1835, he was primarily active in the field of conservation and restored the paintings damaged in the transport. He created miniature portraits and genre pictures, the quality of which does not come close to the works of his brother.

family

Weitsch was married to Jeannette Wilhelmine Bonnard († 1848) on April 21, 1803. She was the daughter of the Dutchman Claude Françis Bonnard, who was in the service of the Hereditary Princess of Braunschweig. His sons were not active as artists. He had a sister Sophie Christine Juliane Schulze (nee Weitsch, around 1751-1824) and a brother-in-law Ludwig Wilhelm Schulze (1745-1820), who was an accountant and chief factor of the Braunschweig porcelain warehouse. Together with his siblings and brother-in-law, he wrote a poem in praise of his father in 1793.

He died in Braunschweig in 1841 at the age of 79.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Letter about the drama performed in Braunschweig: Abraham auf Moria . In: Scholarly contributions to the Braunschweigischen advertisements . 90 tes piece. Braunschweig November 18, 1778, p. 739 , note on Sp: 739-740 ( books.google.de ).
  2. ^ SCJ Schulze, LW Schulze: The day of the marital union of our good brother Antonius Weitsch ... Braunschweig April 21, 1803 (wedding poem to Antonius Weitsch and Wilhelmine Bonnard).
  3. ^ Ludwig Wilhelm Schulze - Friedrich Georg Weitsch google.com.
  4. ↑ SCJ Schulze, Friedrich Georg Weitsch, Anton Weitsch, LW Schulze: Dedicated to our good father Weitsch after his seventy years of life . Braunschweig October 16, 1793 ( diglib.hab.de - Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel).
personal data
SURNAME Weitsch, Johann Anton August
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Weitsch, Anton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter and museum inspector
DATE OF BIRTH January 17, 1762
PLACE OF BIRTH Braunschweig
DATE OF DEATH March 17, 1841
Place of death Braunschweig