Johann Friedrich Voigt (painter)
Johann Friedrich Voigt (born September 9, 1792 on the island of St. Thomas ( Lesser Antilles ); † April 26, 1871 in Homburg vd Höhe ) was a German graphic artist, landscape and portrait painter.
Life
Voigt was born in 1792 on the island of St. Thomas (Lesser Antilles), then Danish West Indies , because his parents were missionaries there. From 1796 to 1808 he grew up in central Germany in the vicinity of the Moravian Brethren . He fled and hired himself out to various armies between 1809 and 1815. He received his first artistic training in the English Navy by making maps and drawings for military purposes. In 1815 he went to Canada for two years. He then worked in Amsterdam, earning money working in graphic techniques. From there he went to Cologne, became a drawing teacher at the grammar school, but also continued to work as an engraver and reproduced paintings.
After traveling in the Franco-German border region and in the area around Frankfurt, he came to Homburg in autumn 1821. Here he used his perfect English for contacts with the court, because the wife of the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, Friedrich VI. , was the British Princess Elisabeth , daughter of King George III. At the beginning of January 1822 he was appointed Homburger Hofzeichenmeister, he also received permission to give private lessons in drawing, later he also became a drawing teacher at the community school and taught spa guests. At the same time he continued his artistic education and in 1829 became court painter to the Landgrave House of Hessen-Homburg.
During the 50 years that he lived in Homburg vd Höhe, Johann Friedrich Voigt became the city's most important painter, his particular strength being portrait painting as well as painting landscapes and cityscapes. He frequented the Landgräflichen Hof as well as in middle-class circles and had intensive contacts with artists in Frankfurt and Mannheim.
Artistically, he benefited greatly from the suggestions he received from working for Landgrave Elisabeth (1770-1840), who was artistically trained in England. Extensive later travels took him to Paris, for example, to the studio of Antoine-Jean Gros or to Dresden, where he got to know the landscape painting of Caspar David Friedrich . His extensive journey through England, of which sketchbooks are preserved in the museum in the Gothic House , was also important. The house also owns many of his oil paintings and countless sheets of various graphic techniques; an inventory is planned.
His son was the painter and photographer Thomas Heinrich Voigt (1838–1896).
exhibition
- 2017: In the service of the court. Johann Friedrich Voigt . Gothic house , Bad Homburg.
literature
- Roswitha Mattausch-Schirmbeck: "The joyful memory". An exhibition for the 200th birthday of the court painter Johann Friedrich Voigt. Catalog of the exhibition in the Gotisches Haus from November 10, 1992 to January 31, 1993. Bad Homburg vdHöhe 1992.
- Peter Voigtländer-Tetzner: Johann Friedrich Voigt. Exhibition for the 200th birthday [...] catalog of the gallery FAC Prestel, Frankfurt am Main in 1992.
- Peter Lingens: The image of the forest. Cabinet exhibition from the museum's holdings in the Gothic House. An exhibition by the museum in the Gothic House for the "International Year of Forests". Bad Homburg vdHöhe. October 29, 2011 to January 22, 2012. pp. 13–22 and 46–47.
- Peter Lingens: painter, photographer, donor. The Voigt family in Homburg and America. In: Our Homburg. The local newspaper for citizens and friends of our city Bad Homburg vdHöhe. 55th volume 09 / September 2012. pp. 6–9.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Voigt, Johann Friedrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German graphic artist, landscape painter and portrait painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 9, 1792 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Thomas , Danish West Indies , Lesser Antilles |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 26, 1871 |
| Place of death | Homburg vd Höhe |