Johann Heinrich Suhrlandt

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Johann Heinrich Suhrlandt (born March 30, 1742 in Schwerin ; † January 1, 1827 in Ludwigslust ) was a court painter at the court of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin dukes Friedrich and Friedrich Franz I.

Live and act

Altar painting in the Ludwigslust town church

Johann Heinrich Suhrlandt was the first child of Johann Friedrich Suhrlandt, a respected Schwerin court mechanic, and his wife Catharina Suhrlandt, nee. Findorff. He had four siblings, two brothers and twin sisters.

First, Suhrlandt received artistic training from the court painter Johann Wilhelm Lehmann, who recognized his talent early on. However, he was denied academic training, as there was no academy or drawing school in the country and Duke Friedrich refused a scholarship . After a while he turned to plastic art and was instructed by the court building director and court sculptor Johann Joachim Busch . Under the guidance of his father, several works in metal, ivory and mother-of-pearl were created in the same time . Court painter Johann Dietrich Findorff , however, managed to bring painting closer to the talented nephew. Court painter Georg David Matthieu , with whom Suhrlandt later cultivated a friendly relationship, also had a decisive influence on the artist's training and career. After Findorff's death, Matthieu was the most important artistic advisor at his side until he too died in 1778.

Suhrlandt mainly painted biblical pictures, landscapes, animals and still lifes . This is how paintings were created for the St. Mary's Church in Ribnitz , the city ​​church in Crivitz and the city ​​church in Stavenhagen . In 1791 he was commissioned for the interior design of the Duchess Louise commissioned Lusthaus , also Swiss house called. In the course of the months, a number of wall paintings were created, including a large painting showing the victorious Prince of Coburg and a supraporte painting depicting three dogs. After the commission was completed in May 1792, the client refused him the promised wages and the promised gifts. A circumstance with which the artist was confronted again and again during his creative time as a court painter.

The artist's main work is the monumental altarpiece Annunciation of the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds by the angel Gabriel in the town church of Ludwigslust, begun by his teacher and court painter Johann Dietrich Findorff . After Findorff's death, the work remained unfinished for many years. It was not until 1788 that Suhrlandt was commissioned to complete the lower area of ​​the monumental painting. The following lavish work lasted until 1803 and presented the artist with many challenges, also because of the jobs he had to do at the same time. The activities of the court painter were varied. They included the design of decorations for the court festivals, the painting of fabrics and wallpaper and the design of the military's silk flags. In addition, he was responsible for maintaining the ducal holdings of paintings and therefore often had to restore old pictures.

The interior design of the new Higher Appeal Court built in Parchim in 1818 was to be Heinrich Suhrlandt's last major commission. However, due to health-related reasons, he was no longer able to carry out this labor-intensive assignment and therefore had to refuse it. Nevertheless, he remained productive well into old age and devoted himself mostly to still life painting.

family

On April 2, 1777, Suhrlandt married Christina Luisa Schmidt (1753–1793), a daughter of the well-known organ builder Paul Schmidt . They had six children, including their son Rudolph Suhrlandt , who later became one of the best history and portrait painters of his time. The family lived under sometimes unreasonable circumstances, which the father of the family insistently described again and again in petitions to the Duke. After his first wife died of emaciation on June 4, 1793 , he married the preacher's daughter Elisabeth Marie Kramel (1748-1827) in 1794. She brought her own child into the marriage.

Heinrich Suhrland died at the age of 84 in the early evening of January 1st, 1827 in Ludwigslust.

Selection of works

painting

Altar painting Marienkirche Neustadt-Glewe. Today the painting hangs in the church on the south wall.
Artist signature around 1800

Hand drawings

  • 1769/70 - 14 draft drawings of allegorical figures, intended for the new Ludwigslust residence. Sculptor Rudolph Kaplunger later used only a few of the allegories he had drawn, including architecture , sculpture , painting , music , the art of star-gazing, and two designs not designated by Suhrlandt, which are apparently intended to represent agriculture and horticulture.

Others

Titles and awards

  • On April 24, 1784 Suhrlandt was appointed court painter at the Ludwigslust residence.

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Heinrich Suhrlandt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Georg Kaspar Nagler : New general artist lexicon. Seventeenth volume. Verlag von EA Fleischmann, Munich 1847, p. 561 ( digitized from books.google.com).
  2. ↑ Hela Baudis, Kristina Hegner, Kornelia von Berswordt-Wallrabe (eds.): Johann Dietrich Findorff 1722–1772: a Mecklenburg court painter. State Museum, Schwerin 2005, ISBN 978-3-86106-088-8 , p. 117.
  3. ↑ LHAS inventory: (2.26-2) No. 1336, Hofmarschallamt in Schwerin
  4. ↑ Death Heinrich Suhrlandt of 12 January 1827. In: State and scholars newspaper of the Hamburg candid correspondents. No. 7, January 12, 1827. Langhoff'sche Buchdruckerei, p. 2 ( digitized from babel.hathitrust.org).
  5. ^ Friedrich Schlie : The art and history monuments of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. III. Tape. Bärensprungsche Hofbuchdruckerei, Schwerin 1900, p. 328.
  6. ^ Georg Kaspar Nagler: New general artist lexicon. Ninth volume. Verlag von EA Fleischmann, Munich 1840, p. 350 ( books.google.com ).
personal data
SURNAME Suhrlandt, Johann Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German court painter to the Mecklenburg dukes
DATE OF BIRTH March 30, 1742
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwerin
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1827
Place of death Ludwigslust