Johann Christof Merck

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Johann Christof Merck: Ulmer Dogge , 1705

Johann Christof Merck , last name also Merk , (born before 1695 in Schwäbisch Hall ; died after 1726 in Potsdam ) was a German portrait and animal painter.

Life

Little is known about the origins of Merck. The Berlin chronicler Friedrich Nicolai noted in 1786: "Johann Christoph Merk, born in Hall in Swabia". Neither the family background has been handed down, nor is there any evidence of his training as a painter. It is also unclear how and why he came to Brandenburg from Swabia. In Berlin he worked as a painter at the electoral court from 1695. Under the government of Elector Friedrich III. (from 1701 King Friedrich I ) he created hunting and animal paintings, including in 1705 the Ulmer Mastiff dog portrait , on which the king's chamber dog is depicted. From 1717 Merck worked at the court of Friedrich Wilhelm I in Potsdam. His portraits included, for example, equestrian portraits of Friedrich Wilhelm I and the Margraves Philip and Ludwig . The king, nicknamed the Soldier King , commissioned Merck to produce a series of life-size portraits of his body regiment, the Lange Kerls . In addition, Merck was a professor at the Berlin Academy of the Arts .

Works (selection)

  • Ulmer Mastiff , 1705, Grunewald Hunting Lodge (GK I 7174)
  • Fuchs , 1709, Grunewald Hunting Lodge (GK I 7166)
  • Wolf , around 1712, Grunewald Hunting Lodge (GK I 7160)
  • Deer with sixty-six-pointed antlers , a copy of the work by Merck, Jagdschloss Grunewald (GK I 7149)
  • Schwerid Rediwanoff from Moscow, grenadier from the Red Body Battalion of the Giant Guard of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia , attributed to Merck, 1718/1719, German Historical Museum
  • James Kirkland from Ireland, grenadier from the Red Body Battalion of the Giant Guard of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia , attributed to Merck, 1718/1719, Deutsches Historisches Museum
  • Brown stallion in a meadow landscape , 1724 - private collection
  • Prussian giant grenadier , around 1730, Royal Collection
  • Head of a boar , around 1731 Grunewald hunting lodge (GK I 7168)

literature

  • Ekhart Berckenhagen: Painting in Berlin from the 13th to the end of the 18th century. Hessling, Berlin 1964.
  • Helmut Börsch-Supan: The paintings in the Grunewald hunting lodge. State Palaces and Gardens, Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1965.
  • Helmut Börsch-Supan: The art in Brandenburg-Prussia: its history from the Renaissance to the Biedermeier, shown at the art collection of the Berlin palaces. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-7861-1273-8 .
  • Friedrich Nicolai : Description of the royal royal cities of Berlin and Potsdam, all the peculiarities located there, and the surrounding area. Friedrich Nicolai, Berlin 1786.
  • Merk (Merck), Johann Christof . In: Hans Vollmer (Hrsg.): General lexicon of fine artists from antiquity to the present . Founded by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker . tape 24 : Mandere – Möhl . EA Seemann, Leipzig 1930, p. 416 .

Web links

Commons : Johann Christof Merck  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The spelling Johann Christof Merck can be found in Helmut Börsch-Supan. The painter signed several of his paintings there with “Merck”. See Helmut Börsch-Supan: The paintings in the Grunewald hunting lodge. Pp. 97-98. The Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie also specifies this spelling.
  2. ↑ The notation Merk can be found in the online offer Deutsche Biographie and in the artist directory Thieme-Becker, Volume 24, p. 416.
  3. ^ Friedrich Nicolai: Description of the royal residence cities Berlin and Potsdam…. P. 98.
  4. ↑ Uwe A. Oster: His life was the saddest in the world: Friedrich II and the fight with his father . Piper Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-492-95382-5 ( books.google.de - reading sample).
  5. ↑ Description of the painting Schwerid Rediwanoff from Moscow, the Red Grenadier Battalion body of the giant guard of Frederick William I of Prussia on the website of the German Historical Museum.
  6. ^ Description of the painting James Kirkland from Ireland, Grenadier from the Red Body Battalion of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia on the website of the German Historical Museum.
  7. ↑ Catalog of the art dealer Ruef, Munich (PDF).
  8. ↑ Information on the painting Prussian giant grenadiers on the website of the Royal Collection.
personal data
SURNAME Merck, Johann Christof
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Merk, Johann Christof; Merk, Johann Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German painter
DATE OF BIRTH before 1695
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwäbisch Hall
DATE OF DEATH after 1726
Place of death Potsdam