Johann Dietrich Findorff

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johann Dietrich Findorff (born March 22, 1722 in Lauenburg / Elbe ; † May 3, 1772 in Ludwigslust ) was court painter and graphic artist for the Mecklenburg-Schwerin dukes, first in Schwerin and later in Ludwigslust.

Life

Johann Dietrich Findorff was born as the son of the council carpenter Hinrich Möller in Lauenburg on the Elbe. According to the church book, this was called "Findorff" from 1720 onwards. Like his older brother Jürgen Christian Findorff (1720–1792), who later became known as a bog colonizer, he first learned the carpentry trade from his father. He then went on a hike in 1740 and came to Schwerin in 1742. Here he worked for the court carpenter Sievert at the court of the then Duke of Mecklenburg Christian Ludwig II. Due to the quality of his artistic and manual work, he found attention at the court and was permanently employed in 1747. During this time he initially made copies of Dutch paintings from the 17th century or imitated them. But he increasingly developed his own style. His first independent painting was probably made in 1750.

After the Duke's death, Findorff continued to serve the Mecklenburg Dukes, now under the new Duke Friedrich called the Pious. In 1763 he moved his residence to Ludwigslust Palace, 40 km south of Schwerin (residence until 1837). Johann Dietrich Findorff followed the court in 1764 and also moved to Ludwigslust. Here he mainly painted scenes from and around Ludwigslust on behalf of the Duke, as well as the newly created gardens and parks of Ludwigslust Palace. In addition, he was entrusted with decorative painting work in the newly emerging residential buildings. He developed a great mastery in etching technology, with which he also gained national importance.

Altar painting in the town church of Ludwigslust

In 1770 he was finally commissioned to design the huge altar painting in the new court church (today the city church) of Ludwigslust. The design for the painting “Annunciation of the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds”, as well as the execution of the upper part of the painting, goes back to Johann Dietrich Findorff. He did not see the completion in 1800 by his successor Johann Heinrich Suhrlandt . Findorff died in Ludwigslust in 1772, only two years after the order was placed.

Today the majority of Findorff's works are in the collections of the State Museum in Schwerin.

Exhibitions

  • 2012: The brothers Findorff - Exhibition of 18 March until 30 September 2012 in the Art Show Lilienthal the Lilienthaler Art Foundation in Lilienthal (near Bremen)

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Dietrich Findorff  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ March 25, 1722, sometimes incorrectly mentioned in the literature as his birthday, is the date of his baptism.
  2. ↑ The Findorff Brothers ( Memento of the original from November 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . On: Website of the Lilienthal Art Foundation , Lilienthal. Retrieved July 31, 2012.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kunststiftung-lilienthal.de
personal data
SURNAME Findorff, Johann Dietrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Court painter and graphic artist for the Mecklenburg dukes
DATE OF BIRTH March 22, 1722
PLACE OF BIRTH Lauenburg / Elbe
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 1772
Place of death Ludwigslust