Expert research: Torsten Sabatier
His father, a tanner, died prematurely, leaving the family in financial straits. As the eldest child, he assumed responsibility for their care. Although his uncle Johann, a successful businessman, offered support, he also worked herding sheep.
His talent was soon recognized, and in 1828, at the age of fourteen, he enrolled at the Weimar Princely Free Drawing School to train as a porcelain painter. The plan was for him to join the Volkstedt porcelain manufactory, owned by his relatives, but vision problems forced him to return to Erfurt. In 1833, he moved to Berlin to study with Wilhelm Schirmer and Carl Blechen, travelling extensively in Thuringia and to Rügen, where he sketched landscapes and cultivated a deep interest in botany.
In 1840, he journeyed to Norway with Friedrich Preller, one of his former teachers, and two other students. Despite primitive conditions, the trip yielded a large canvas that impressed with its faithful rendering of nature and geology. Though now lost, it was purchased by King Frederick William IV, leading Alexander von Humboldt to recommend him for a Hamburg-sponsored scientific expedition to the countries of South America.
Arriving in Venezuela in July 1842, he remained until September 1845, beginning at the port of La Guaira, where he recorded the people and ruins from the 1812 Caracas earthquake. He travelled widely, following Humboldt’s suggestions, and created an extensive body of sketches, pastels, and oils depicting landscapes, plants, urban life, and local customs. Notably, he witnessed the return of Simón Bolívar’s remains from Santa Marta in November 1842.
Returning to Germany in late 1845, he continued painting Venezuelan subjects for the rest of his career. In 1849, he became Professor of Drawing at the Prussian Academy of Arts, and in 1866 succeeded his former teacher Schirmer as Professor of Landscape Painting, where he promoted Humboldt’s vision of introducing tropical vegetation to Europe. From October 2014 to January 2015, the Angermuseum in Erfurt presented a major centennial retrospective of his work. This painting was also exhibited at the Academic Exhibition in Berlin in 1850.
