Tischbein

a family of German artists of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Johann Friedrich August Tischbein (August Tischbein). Born Mar. 9,1750, in Maastricht, the Netherlands; died June 21,1812, in Heidelberg.

August Tischbein, a portraitist and adherent of classicism, studied under his uncle, Johann Heinrich Tischbein. He worked in many German cities and in France (1772–77), the Netherlands, and Italy (1777–80). From 1806 to 1808 he visited St. Petersburg, where he painted a number of court portraits. His best works were notable for their austere composition and elements of senti-mentalism, as exemplified in their intimate atmosphere and in the use of a soft palette. A typical example is his Self-portrait (1782, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).

Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein. Born Feb. 15, 1751, in Haina, Hesse; died June 26, 1829, in Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein. Because of his friendship with Goethe, known as Goethe-Tischbein.

Like his cousin August, Tischbein studied under Johann Heinrich Tischbein. He lived and worked in Italy from 1779 to 1799, in Kassel in 1799 and 1800, and in Hamburg from 1801 to 1808. Although originally an adherent of classicism, he was influenced by the romantics at the turn of the 18th century, embracing their idea of a German national revival. He executed historical scenes, for example, Conrad ofSwabia Before His Execution (1784; Castle Museum, Gotha), as well as idyllic landscapes. Tischbein is also known for his portraits—for example, Goethe in the Roman Campagna (1787; Stadel Institute, Frankfurt).