Johann Knapp (painter)

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Homage to Jacquin (“Jacquin's Monument”) , 1821–1822, Belvedere , Vienna
Detail from homage to Jacquin
Still life with a fishbowl , 1810, Belvedere , Vienna
Still life with a bouquet of flowers , 1828, Belvedere , Vienna

Johann Knapp (born September 5, 1778 in Vienna ; † February 9, 1833 there ) was an Austrian flower painter and watercolorist .

Life

Johann Knapp first studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. After working in a wallpaper factory for three years, he became a student of the flower painter Johann Baptist Drechsler , whom he also represented in the event of illness. During this time pattern templates for flowers were created, which were used in the academy for a long time. Knapp worked as a private tutor for various nobles. So he taught z. B. Archduchess Henriette. From 1804 Knapp became a chamber painter for Archduke Anton Viktor , for whom he remained active until his death. He was given an apartment in Schönbrunn Palace and was able to capture the exotic plants in the "Dutch Garden" there since 1808. Knapp also worked for Archduke Johann , for whom he depicted the flora of the Alps. Johann Knapp's son, Joseph, was also a flower painter and also worked with his father.

Johann Knapp was buried in Vienna-Hietzing. In 1953 the Knappweg in Vienna-Kagran was dedicated to the artist .

power

As a painter, Johann Knapp was an outspoken specialist who dealt exclusively with depicting plants and still lifes with associated animals. He combined artistic talent, which enabled him to make tasteful arrangements, with a precise knowledge of the botanical characteristics of the plants represented. Knapp only painted a few oil paintings , among which the painting Homage to Jacquin stands out, which was commissioned by the University of Vienna in honor of the botanist. Behind the pleasing-looking painting hides the ingenious representation of different systems of plant families, as set up by Linnaeus and Jacquin, as well as of the plant species that they discovered. The main activity of Knapp, however, was the systematic documentation of plants in the form of hundreds of watercolors. On the one hand, he recorded the plant treasures of Schönbrunn Palace, where one of the most important collections existed at that time (exotic plants, ornamental plants such as roses, fruit and fruits), and on the other hand, the flora of the Alpine region ( Flora alpina , with over 300 images). Knapp's pictures are both art and scientific documentation.

Works

  • Still life with flowers (stolen on April 7, 1996 in Berlin), 1800, oil on canvas, 46.8 × 39.5 cm
  • Still life with a goldfish bowl (Vienna, Belvedere ), 1810, oil on canvas, 111 × 94.7 cm
  • Flower piece in a niche ( St. Pölten , Museum Niederösterreich , inv. No. 6415), around 1810/20, oil on canvas
  • Homage to Jacquin (“Jacquins Monument”) (Vienna, Belvedere), 1821–1822, oil on canvas
  • Still life with a bouquet of flowers (Vienna, Belvedere), 1828, oil on canvas, 68 × 57 cm
  • Flower watercolors ( Hamburg , Museum of Arts and Crafts )
  • Fungorum Austriae icones. Vienna, 1835
  • Icones plantarum rariorum horti Archiducis Austriae Antonii. Vienna, 1835

In 2006 flowers for the imperial family were shown in the exhibition . Masterpieces by the Viennese painter Johann Knapp, numerous watercolors by the artist were shown in the Hamburg Museum of Art and Industry and subsequently in the Austrian Belvedere Gallery in Vienna.

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Knapp (painter)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ The year of death of Johann Knapp is given differently. In addition to 1833 (Austrian Lexicon, German National Library), the years 1832 (Czeike, Historisches Lexikon Wien) and 1839 appear in the literature.
personal data
SURNAME Knapp, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian landscape painter
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1778
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 1832 or February 9, 1833 or 1839
Place of death Vienna