Anton Raphael Mengs Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Anton Raphael Mengs
Self-Portrait, c. 1775, Uffizi, Florence
Born	(1728-03-12)12 March 1728 Ústí nad Labem, Bohemia, Habsburg Empire
Died	29 June 1779(1779-06-29) (aged 51) Rome, Papal States
Nationality	German
Occupation	Painter
Movement	Neoclassical
Spouse(s)	Margarita Guazzi (m. 1748)
Children	Anna Maria Mengs
Relatives	Therese Mengs (sister) Julia Charlotte Mengs (sister)

Anton Raphael Mengs (born March 12, 1728 – died June 29, 1779) was an important German painter. He worked in cities like Dresden, Rome, and Madrid. Mengs lived during the Rococo art period. However, his painting style helped start a new art movement called Neoclassicism. This new style soon became very popular in Europe.

Early Life of Anton Raphael Mengs
Adulthood and Important Works
Mengs's Career and Style
- Mengs's Ideas About Art
Selected Works
Gallery
Images for kids
See also

Early Life of Anton Raphael Mengs

Self-portrait, 1744

Anton Raphael Mengs was born in 1728 in Ústí nad Labem. This town is in a region once known as the Kingdom of Bohemia. His father, Ismael Mengs, was also a painter from Denmark. Ismael later settled in Dresden, which was an important center for art. Anton's older sister, Therese Maron, and younger sister, Julia, were also painters.

Anton's birth in Bohemia was due to his parents' travels. His father, Ismael, often took his family on trips. Anton was born during one of these journeys. A few weeks after Anton's birth, his father brought him and his mother back to Dresden. They lived there for the next 13 years. In 1741, the Mengs family moved from Dresden to Rome.

Adulthood and Important Works

In 1749, Anton Raphael Mengs became the main painter for Frederick Augustus. He was the ruler of Saxony. Even with this important job, Mengs spent a lot of time in Rome. In Rome, he married Margarita Guazzi in 1748. She had been a model for his paintings. He also became a Catholic.

In 1754, Mengs became the director of the Vatican painting school. This was a very respected position. His large wall painting (fresco) called Parnassus at Villa Albani made him famous. People saw him as a master painter.

Around 1749, Mengs was asked by the Duke of Northumberland to copy a famous painting. He made a full-sized oil copy of Raphael's fresco The School of Athens. This copy is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Mengs passed away in Rome in June 1779. He was buried in the Church of Santi Michele e Magno.

Mengs's Career and Style

Self-portrait, 1774

Mengs was invited twice by Charles III of Spain to work in Madrid. There, he created some of his best art. One famous work is the ceiling of the banqueting hall in the Royal Palace of Madrid. This painting shows the Triumph of Trajan and the Temple of Glory.

After finishing this work in 1777, Mengs went back to Rome. He died two years later. He had many children, and the King of Spain helped support seven of them. Mengs's portraits and self-portraits are known for their great detail. They often show a deep understanding of the person.

Mengs was a friend of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, a famous art historian. Mengs shared Winckelmann's love for ancient Greek and Roman art. He worked to make Neoclassical painting more popular than the Rococo style. However, his religious paintings still showed some influence from the older Baroque art style.

Mengs had a friendly competition with another Italian painter, Pompeo Batoni. He was also friends with Giacomo Casanova. Casanova wrote about Mengs in his famous book, Histoire de ma vie. Some of Mengs's students included Anton von Maron and Agustín Esteve.

Besides his many paintings in Madrid, other important works include:

Ascension and St Joseph in Dresden.
Perseus and Andromeda in Saint Petersburg.
The ceiling of the Villa Albani.
A painting called Noli me tangere at the National Gallery, London.
Another altar-piece at Magdalen College, Oxford.

Mengs's Ideas About Art

Mengs wrote books about art in Spanish, Italian, and German. He believed that perfect art could be made by combining the best parts of different styles. He thought artists should use Greek design, the emotional expression of Raphael, the light and shadow (chiaroscuro) of Antonio da Correggio, and the colors of Titian.

Selected Works

Ascension (Dresden, Court Church), 1751/1766
St Joseph (Dresden, Court Church), 1751/1766
The Glory of Saint Eusebius (ceiling fresco, Sant'Eusebio, Rome), 1757
Portrait of Ferdinand I (National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy), 1759
Charles III (Museo del Prado, Madrid), 1761
Infante Don Louis de Borbon (Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio)

Gallery

Prince of Asturias, Future Charles IV of Spain (са. 1765)
Portrait of Maria Luisa of Spain
Helios as Personification of Midday (ca. 1765)
St. John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness
Diana as Personification of the Night (ca. 1765)
La marquesa de Llano (ca. 1775)
Saint Peter
Portrait of William Burton Conyngham (1733–1796)
The Dream of St. Joseph (ca. 1774)
Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768) (1717–1768) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (ca. 1777)