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Karl Friedrich Lessing | |
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 Karl Friedrich Lessing in a photograph by the firm G. & A. Overbeck (c. 1868) | |
| Born | Karl Friedrich Lessing 15 February 1808 |
| Died | 4 January 1880(1880-01-04) (aged 71) |
| Relatives | Christian Friedrich Lessing (brother) |
Karl Friedrich Lessing, also known byCarl Friedrich Lessing (15 February 1808 – 4 January 1880), was a Germanhistorical andlandscape painter, grandnephew ofGotthold Ephraim Lessing[1] and one of the main exponents of theDüsseldorf school of painting.
Karl Friedrich Lessing was born on 15 February 1808 in Breslau,Prussia (nowWrocław, Poland). His father, also named Karl Friedrich Lessing (1778–1848), was a judicial officer in Breslau, from 1809 on the chancelor of the court of the Free State country of former Polnish-Wartenberg (nowSyców, Poland). Lessing's mother, Clementine née Schwarz (1783–1821), was the daughter of a government Chancellor for theHouse of Hatzfeld inTrachenberg. His brother,Christian Friedrich, became a doctor andbotanist. His sister, Franziska Maria (1818–1901), married the painter,Emil Ebers [de]. He spent most of his childhood inWartenberg, where he developed an early love of nature.
After spending two years at a Catholic school in Breslau, his talent for drawing was noted by the artist,Johann Heinrich Christoph König [de] who, in 1822, arranged for him to study at theBauakademie in Berlin. The following year, against his father's wishes, he decided to become a painter. He spent three years studying at thePrussian Academy of Arts with the landscape paintersSamuel Rösel [de] andHeinrich Dähling. A successful showing in 1825, with the subsequent sale of the paintingKirchhof mit Leichensteinen und Ruinen im Schnee (Churchyard with Gravestones and Ruins in the Snow), reconciled his father to his chosen career. In 1826, he accompanied one of his instructors,Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow to theKunstakademie Düsseldorf. There, he became associated with theDüsseldorfer Malerschule. In 1827, he undertook further studies in landscape painting withJohann Wilhelm Schirmer.
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In the first phase of his career, he painted dark and imaginative landscapes, after the style ofCaspar David Friedrich with romantic motivs like castle ruins, left churchyards (Klosterhof im Schnee, 1829, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum,Cologne), or ragged rocks, with staffage figures of monks, knights, robbers, or gypsies. Other subjects he drew from poetry (Lenore, 1802) or tales and legends likeA King and Queen in Mourning (Das trauernde Königspaar, 1830,Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia) afterLudwig Uhland's poemDas Schloß am Meere. Later, Schadow encouraged him to take up history painting and helped him obtain a commission from CountFranz von Spee [de] to paint a cycle offrescoes depicting the life ofFrederick Barbarossa atHeltorf Castle nearDüsseldorf, the so-called "Barbarossazyklus".[2] He completed part of a monumental representation of theBattle of Iconium, but decided that wall painting did not appeal to him, and allowed another artist at the project,Hermann Plüddemann, to finish the fresco, from his sketches. His most renowned and influential work wasThe Hussite Sermon (Die Hussitenpredigt, 1836) which had not been a historical subject as such until then, however allowed for a variety of references to contemporary history.[3] The picture went on tour throughout Germany and France[4] and was positively discussed, as, for instance, byFriedrich Theodor Vischer in his essay "Zustand der jetzigen Malerei" (1842).[5]
Lessing married Ida Heuser (1817–1880), daughter of the businessman, Heinrich Daniel Theodor Heuser (1767–1848), in 1841. Three of her sisters,Louise Wüste,Adeline Jaeger andAlwine Schroedter, were painters. They had several children, including the painters,Heinrich [de] andKonrad Lessing [de], and the sculptor,Otto Lessing. His daughter, Bertha (1844–1914), married the actor, Karl Koberstein (1836–1899). The painter, Hans Koberstein (1864–1945), was their son.
In 1846, he was offered the position of Director at theStädelschen Kunstinstituts inFrankfurt am Main, but declined. Later, in 1858, he accepted an appointment as Director at theGroßherzoglich Badischen Gemäldegalerie inKarlsruhe. There, he resumed painting landscapes. In 1867, he received another offer, as Director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, but chose to remain in Karlsruhe.
Over the course of his career, he was awarded several honors. In 1848, he was named a Professor by KingFriedrich Wilhelm IV, and was one of the first artists to receive thePour le Mérite medal. He was also a member of the Prussian Academy and served as chairman of the progressive artists' association "Malkasten" (Paintbox).
During his last decade, he suffered several strokes, which left him unable to work. He died of one in 1880, at the age of seventy-two, and was buried in Karlsruhe's main cemetery, with a memorial designed by his son Otto. The cemetery was levelled in 1956.
