Lambert Krahe
Wilhelm Lambert Krahe (15 March 1712,
Life
He was the son of a government clerk. Nothing is known of his early education. He found a patron in Ferdinand
In 1749, upon the recommendation of Silvio Valenti Gonzaga, the Cardinal Secretary of State, he was pensioned to Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria, on whose behalf he painted altarpieces for the Jesuit Church in Mannheim. In 1756, he became head of the Düsseldorf Art Gallery.[2][3] Later, the Elector appointed him to oversee the creation of new galleries in Mannheim and Munich. In 1761, he was commissioned to paint ceilings in the library and ballrooms at Schloss Benrath.[4]
He started an art school in 1762. Eleven years later, his school was designated the "Electorate of the Palatinate Painting, Sculpture and Architecture Academy" (later, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf) and Krahe became its first director. In his last years, an eye ailment prevented him from painting.
The Classical architect Peter Joseph Krahe was his son. Moritz Kellerhoven was one of his best-known students.
His art collection
Although Krahe was a very popular painter in his day, his art collection constitutes his most important achievement. Begun when he was in Rome, and expanded during travels throughout Germany, Holland and France, it came to include 332 paintings and oil sketches, as well as thousands of drawings and prints from the 15th to 18th centuries. It remains one of the world's most important collections of Italian
In 1778, the collection was purchased by the
The centerpiece of the collection consists of graphic works by Raphael, Michelangelo and Paolo Veronese, with larger works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Pietro da Cortona and Giuseppe Passeri. The collection also includes woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer, engravings by Martin Schongauer and etchings by Rembrandt.
References
- ^ Lambert Krahe und die Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Artikel im Portal smkp.de des Museums Kunstpalast, retrieved, 24 June 2013
- ISBN 3-590-30244-5, S. 201
- ISBN 3-491-34222-8, S. 267
- ^ Johann Georg von Vierbahn, in: Topographie des Regierungsbezirks Düsseldorf, Erster Teil, 1836, S. 284.
- ^ Bertram Müller: Lambert Krahes Spürnase für Kunst. Artikel vom 12. April 2013 im Portal rp-online.de, retrieved, 12 April 2013
Further reading
- Moritz Blanckarts (1883), "Krahe, Lambert", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 17, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 22–23
- Dieter Graf (1980), "Krahe, Lambert", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 12, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 657–658; (full text online)
- Bibliothek Lambert Krahe: Kunstliteratur des Barock und des Klassizismus; eine Ausstellung der Universitätsbibliothek Düsseldorf, 14. November 1990 – 12. Januar 1991. Düsseldorf, 1990
- Kunibert Bering: Lambert Krahe (1712–1790). Maler – Sammler – Akademiegründer. In: Artificium – Schriften zur Kunst und Kunstvermittlung, Bd. 43, Athena-Verlag, Oberhausen 2013, ISBN 978-3-89896-531-6