Ismael Mengs | |
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 Portrait by his sonAnton Raphael Mengs (c. 1744–1745) | |
| Born | 1688 (1688) |
| Died | 26 December 1764(1764-12-26) (aged 75–76) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Anton Raphael Mengs Therese Concordia Maron Julia Charlotte Mengs |
Ismael Israel Mengs (1688–1764) was a Danish-born portrait andenamel painter of Jewish ancestry; active mainly at the court ofDresden.
His family was originally fromLusatia. He began by studying enamel painting withBenoît Le Coffre, a French artist who worked for the Danish court. In 1709, after further training inHamburg andSchwerin, he studied oil painting withPaul Heinecken inLübeck. Following travels in Germany, Austria and Italy, he settled in Dresden and worked as aminiaturist.[1]
Shortly after, he was baptized as aLutheran.[citation needed] In 1714, he became a Court Painter toAugustus II, the King ofPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth andElector of Saxony.[2]
He made a study trip to Italy in 1718. There, he was impressed by the works ofRaphael andCorreggio. Later, when teaching his children, he employed the lessons he had learned from examining their works. His best-known offspring,Anton Rafael, was said to consider him a strict and often tyrannical teacher.[3]He also had two daughters who became miniaturists. On several occasions, their training included study trips to Italy.
In addition to painting, he used his knowledge of chemistry to develop colors for theMeissen Porcelain manufactory. For several years, he taught at the drawing school there. In 1764, not long before his death, he was named an honorary professor at the newly establishedAcademy of Fine Arts.
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