Peter Krafft (1780 - 1856)

Peter Krafft was one of the leading portrait painters in Vienna. He received commissions from the imperial family, the aristocracy and wealthy bourgeois society. He also produced notable history paintings and genre scenes. From 1799 he studied history painting with Heinrich Friedrich Füger (1751–1818) at the Vienna Academy, and in 1802 he went for further training to Paris, where he met history painter Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), court painter to Napoleon, and portraitist François Gérard (1770–1837), both of whom ran private studios there. Krafft returned to Vienna in 1805, and in 1808 he spent several months in Rome. In 1813 he became a member of the Vienna Academy, where he was appointed professor for history painting in 1823 (until 1829). From 1828 he was director of the imperial painting gallery in the Upper Belvedere and assumed the function of palace custodian. It was Krafft who brought from Paris to Vienna the latest French taste in art. His portraits sometimes evince a cool elegance, together with classical rigour, the physiognomy of his subjects giving a realistic reflection of their character.

Author: Habersatter Thomas

Literature: Ducke Astrid, Habersatter Thomas (Hrsg. I Ed.): Face to Face. Österreichische Porträtmalerei des 19. Jahrhunderts. 19th-century Austrian portrait painting. Residenzgalerie Salzburg I DomQuartier Salzburg 6.6.-29.9.2025. Salzburg 2025, S. I p. 167