Johann David Passavant
Encyclopedia
Johann David Passavant was a German
painter
, curator
and artist
.
Passavant was born in 1787 in Frankfurt
am Main, Germany
. His interest in the arts was evidence by an early correspondence with the artist Franz Pforr
(1788-1812). He moved to Paris
in 1809 to further his business interests. He returned to Frankfurt in 1824 where art history evermore occupied his interest. His Tour of a German artist in England (1833 in German; 1836 translated into English by Lady Eastlake) remains a significant source for art historians, as do his catalogues of old master print
s, whose numbering is still followed by some collections.
In the year 1839 he became Inspektor (curator) of the Städelsches Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt. There he acquired important works in the prints and drawing area, mounted exhibitions, and taught. Passavant developed the three principal genres of art writing important for the next two centuries: the scholarly artistic biography, the aesthetic travelogue, and the reference survey. As a historian, he followed the romantic tradition. His paintings include Holy Family with Elizabeth and John 1819, Staadtische Galerie im Staadelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt
and A Visitation, Christ and the Samaritan c. 1820, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
. He died in 1861 in Frankfurt am Main.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
.
Passavant was born in 1787 in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
am Main, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His interest in the arts was evidence by an early correspondence with the artist Franz Pforr
Franz Pforr
Franz Pforr was a painter of the German Nazarene movement.He was born in Frankfurt am Main.He received his earliest training from his father, the painter Johann Georg Pforr , and his uncle, the art professor and first inspector of the painting gallery in Kassel, Johann Heinrich Tischbein the...
(1788-1812). He moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1809 to further his business interests. He returned to Frankfurt in 1824 where art history evermore occupied his interest. His Tour of a German artist in England (1833 in German; 1836 translated into English by Lady Eastlake) remains a significant source for art historians, as do his catalogues of old master print
Old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition . A date of about 1830 is usually taken as marking the end of the period whose prints are covered by this term. The main techniques concerned are woodcut, engraving and etching, although there are...
s, whose numbering is still followed by some collections.
In the year 1839 he became Inspektor (curator) of the Städelsches Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt. There he acquired important works in the prints and drawing area, mounted exhibitions, and taught. Passavant developed the three principal genres of art writing important for the next two centuries: the scholarly artistic biography, the aesthetic travelogue, and the reference survey. As a historian, he followed the romantic tradition. His paintings include Holy Family with Elizabeth and John 1819, Staadtische Galerie im Staadelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and A Visitation, Christ and the Samaritan c. 1820, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He died in 1861 in Frankfurt am Main.
External links
- Short biography and bibliography
- Art as Existence Gabriele Guercio - The MIT Press, 2006