Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow | |
|---|---|
 Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow byCarl Christian Vogel von Vogelstein (1821) | |
| Born | 7 September 1789 Berlin |
| Died | 19 March 1862(1862-03-19) (aged 72) Düsseldorf |
| Known for | painting |
Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow (7 September 1789 – 19 March 1862) was aGerman Romantic painter.
He was born inBerlin, the second son of the sculptorJohann Gottfried Schadow,[1] who gave him his first lessons in drawing. He then turned to painting, and was instructed byWeitsch.[2]
In 1806-7 Schadow served as asoldier. In 1810 he traveled with his elder brotherRudolph to Rome where he became one of the leading painters of theNazarene movement. Following the example ofJohann Friedrich Overbeck and others, Schadow, originally a Lutheran, joined theRoman Catholic Church, and held that an artist must believe and live out the truths he essays to paint. The sequel showed that Schadow was qualified to shine more as a teacher and mentor than as a painter.[3] As an author, he is best known for his lecture,Ueber den Einfluss des Christentums auf die bildende Kunst (About The Influence of Christianity On The Visual Arts) (Düsseldorf, 1843), and the biographical sketches,Der moderne Vasari (Berlin, 1854).
In Rome, Schadow was given one of his first major commissions when the Prussian Consul-General, GeneralJakob Salomon Bartholdy, befriended the young painter, and asked him and three young compatriots (Peter von Cornelius, Johann Friedrich Overbeck andPhilipp Veit) to decorate in fresco a room in his house on thePincian Hill. The overall theme selected was the story of Joseph and his brethren, and two scenes, theBloody Coat andJoseph in Prison, were conferred on Schadow. In 1819, Schadow was appointed professor in the prestigiousBerlin Academy of the Arts, and his ability and thorough training gained many devoted disciples.[3]
It was during this period that Schadow developed his paintings for churches. In 1826 he was made director of theKunstakademie Düsseldorf which he reoriented towards the production of Christian art, though he began a major dispute with one of its professors,Heinrich Christoph Kolbe, ending in the latter leaving the Academy in 1832.[citation needed] In 1837, Schadow selected, at request, those of his students best qualified to decorate the chapel of St Apollinaris on theRhine with frescoes. When finished, they were acclaimed as the fullest and purest manifestation of the spiritual side of theDüsseldorf school. One of his famous students,Heinrich Mucke, carried on the liturgical art with emphasis both in painting andfrescoes. The painting of theWise and Foolish Virgins, considered one of his masterworks, was commissioned in 1842. Now in theStädel Museum, this large and important picture, while carefully considered and rendered, lacks the power of some of his other works.[3]
Schadow's fame rests less on his own artistic creations than on the school he formed. InDüsseldorf a reaction set in against the spiritual and sacerdotal style he had established and, in 1859, the party of naturalism, after a severe struggle, drove Director Schadow from his chair. He died atDüsseldorf in 1862, and a monument was erected in the square which bears his name at a jubilee held to commemorate his directorate.[3]
TheDüsseldorf School that Schadow directed became internationally renowned, attracting such American painters asGeorge Caleb Bingham,Eastman Johnson,Worthington Whittredge,Richard Caton Woodville,William Stanley Haseltine,James M. Hart, andWilliam Morris Hunt and producing the German emigreEmmanuel Leutze.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Atkinson, Joseph Beavington (1911). "Schadow v.s. Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 310.
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