Anselm Feuerbach was a German painter born in Speyer in 1829.
“It was in Paris that he produced his first masterpiece, Hafiz at the Fountain (1852).”
Anselm Feuerbach attended the Düsseldorf Academy from 1845 to 1848, where he was taught by Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and Wilhelm von Schadow, and he later studied at the Munich Academy before moving to Antwerp to study under Gustav Wappers.
Anselm Feuerbach moved to Paris in 1851 and was a pupil of Thomas Couture until 1854, and it was in Paris that he produced his first masterpiece, Hafiz at the Fountain, in 1852, marking the beginning of his distinguished career.
Anselm Feuerbach visited Venice in 1854, where he fell under the spell of the greatest school of colorists, and he continued to Florence and then to Rome, where he remained until 1873, making brief visits back to Germany, and he was influenced by the Italian masters.
Anselm Feuerbach met Anna Risi, known as Nanna, in 1861, and she sat as his model for the next four years, and in 1866 she was succeeded by Lucia Brunacci, who posed for his paintings of Medea, demonstrating his deep engagement with his subjects.
- Born in Speyer, Germany, in 1829, died in 1880.
- He studied at the Düsseldorf Academy and in Antwerp.
- He was influenced by the Italian masters during his time in Rome.
- His models included Anna Risi and Lucia Brunacci.
- He was a professor of history painting at the Vienna Academy.
Anselm Feuerbach met Count Adolf Friedrich von Schack in 1862, who introduced him to Arnold Böcklin and Hans von Marées, and the three artists became known as the Deutschrömer, or German Romans, because of their preference for Italian over German art.
Anselm Feuerbach moved to Vienna in 1873 after being appointed professor of history painting at the Academy, and among his students were Ludwig Deutsch, Rudolf Ernst, and Jean Discart, but he later developed a disagreement with architect Theophil Hansen over his ceiling mural The Fall of the Titans.
Anselm Feuerbach came to know Johannes Brahms while in Vienna, and Brahms later dedicated a composition to him, Nänie, reflecting the respect and admiration Feuerbach earned from his contemporaries, and his legacy as a leading classicist painter of the German 19th-century school endures.
Art Category Fact: The Düsseldorf School was a group of artists who studied at the Düsseldorf Academy in the 19th century, and they were known for their detailed, realistic paintings of landscapes, history, and genre scenes, with key figures including Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, Andreas Achenbach, and Anselm Feuerbach, who helped to establish the school’s reputation.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas
