Wilhelm Friedrich Gmelin

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Wilhelm Friedrich Gmelin (born November 26, 1760 in Badenweiler , † September 22, 1820 in Rome ) was a German draftsman and engraver .

Gmelin Laufenburg 1785

Life

Gmelin received his first lessons from his father, who was a pastor in Badenweiler. Then he attended the Latin school in Müllheim . In 1776, at the age of 16, he began an apprenticeship as a copper engraver at the Basel Art School with Christian von Mechel , which lasted ten years.

In 1786 he moved to Rome for further training (cf. Karl Philipp Moritz : Reise eines Deutschen in Italien , 1792/93, second part) and soon accepted an invitation from Jakob Philipp Hackert to Naples . In 1790 he returned to Rome. From this time on, nature motifs formed his artistic focus. He mostly worked out his drawings in sepia ; later he also painted.

During the Revolution he was in Germany from 1798 and then again from 1800 to 1801, where he mainly worked in the Dresden gallery during his last stay. He spent the last 20 years of his life in Rome. Among his guests there was Alexander von Humboldt , whose sketches were partially engraved in copper by Gmelin.

Among his numerous engravings, based on his own drawings and especially after Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin , Gmelin himself declared Claude Lorrain's mill to be his masterpiece.

Gmelin invented several machines, especially for engravers. He also showed great skills as a turner .

His son Johann Georg Gmelin (1810–1854) was himself a respected painter. His brother Karl Christian Gmelin (1762–1837) was a mineralogist and botanist.

Anniversary exhibition

On the occasion of the 250th birthday of the artist, the Hohenkarpfen Art Museum organized the exhibition “Wilhelm Friedrich Gmelin - Vedutas and Ideal Landscapes of Goethe's Time” from July 25th to November 7th, 2010.

literature

  • Moriz Gmelin:  Gmelin, Wilhelm Friedrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, p. 275.
  • Wilhelm Friedrich Gmelin: Vedute and ideal landscapes of the Goethe time , ed. Stefan Borchardt. Exhibition catalog, Beuron: Hohenkarpfen Art Foundation 2010