Nathanael Schmitt
Nathanael Schmitt (born February 21, 1847 in Heidelberg , † June 30, 1918 in Karlsruhe ) was a German painter who worked in Rome for a long time. He belongs to the Heidelberg painter dynasty Schmitt, which produced four important painters: in addition to Nathanael Schmitt, his brother Guido Philipp Schmitt , their father Georg Philipp Schmitt and their uncle Franz Schmitt .
Life
On February 21, 1847, Nathanael Schmitt was born as the son of the painter Georg Philipp Schmitt and his wife Eva Katharina, b. Kaysser, a baker's daughter, was born. Just like the older brother Guido Philipp Schmitt , Nathanael initially received painting lessons from his father. The unusual first name Nathanael apparently goes back to his contacts with the religiously motivated painting school of the Nazarenes .
From 1868 to 1871 Nathanael Schmitt attended the art school in Karlsruhe, between 1872 and 1880 Rome was his permanent residence, where many of his pictures were taken. One of the most famous works is the portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Franchi . According to the judgment of the Heidelberg art historian Karl Lohmeyer , Schmitt developed his own painting style in Rome, completely different from the quiet and intimate art of his father and brother, with which he aimed for a certain monumentality in his portraits. The Heidelberg artist once painted Nanna ( Anna Risi ), the well-known Roman model of Anselm Feuerbach , in Rome . In 1878 he portrayed the philosopher Kuno Fischer .
In 1879 Nathanael Schmitt married Cornelie von Ammon, daughter of the Cologne Higher Appeal Court Judge Friedrich von Ammon, who played an important role in the history of the Rhenish-Prussian judiciary and in general politics between 1827 and 1871.
Around 1881/82 Schmitt moved to Saarbrücken, where he created many portraits over the next five years, mainly of people from large-scale industry.
From 1886 the artist lived and worked in Karlsruhe, from where he made numerous trips abroad, e. B. to Greece and Turkey. He brought back new suggestions and ideas from his travels. In 1904 Nathanael Schmitt painted the picture “Our Steersman”, a typical motif of Kaiser Wilhelm II, which was particularly popular for patriotic postcards and was published in a wide variety of versions. The painter died in Karlsruhe on June 30, 1918.
Nathanael Schmitt's daughter, Cornelie, married the lawyer Franz Xaver Honold, who was for a time the Baden ambassador in Berlin. Schmitt's son Gerhard married Marie Mommsen, granddaughter of the famous historian Theodor Mommsen .
The brothers Nathanael and Guido Philipp Schmitt also designed the tomb of their uncle Franz Schmitt (with a portrait relief) in the main cemetery in Frankenthal (Palatinate) .
A lady strolling in front of the Ludwigskirche (Saarbrücken) , 1885
"Our helmsman", 1904 ( Wilhelm II as helmsman, a popular postcard motif from the imperial era)
literature
- Schmitt, Guido and Nathanael , in: Hermann Alex. Müller: Biographisches Künstler-Lexikon , Leipzig 1882
- Robert Schmitt: Simon Joseph Gabriel Schmitt. Life story, ancestors and descendants . Self-published by the author, Koblenz 1966
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ to Franz Xaver Honold Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schmitt, Nathanael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 21, 1847 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Heidelberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 1918 |
| Place of death | Karlsruhe |