Gebirgslandschaft (1859)

Friedrich von Amerling prints bring the grace and polish of Biedermeier Vienna into your home. Amerling was court painter to the Habsburgs and, with Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, one of the two great Austrian portrait painters of the nineteenth century. Our collection of fine art prints includes his portraits of emperors and aristocrats, family groups, studies of his own wives and children, and his romantic figure paintings.

About Friedrich von Amerling

Friedrich Amerling was born in Vienna on 14 April 1803, the son of a gold and silversmith. He studied at the Vienna Academy from 1815 to 1824 and then at the Prague Academy until 1826. In 1827–1828 he worked in London, where the portraitist Sir Thomas Lawrence influenced him deeply, and then studied with Horace Vernet in Paris before visiting Rome.

Back in Vienna from 1828 he worked for the imperial court, the aristocracy and the prosperous middle class, and in 1829 won the Academy's Reichel Prize. In 1832 he painted the state portrait of Emperor Franz I, and he served as court painter from 1835 until 1880. He travelled constantly, to Italy, the Netherlands, Munich and Rome, and late in life to Spain, England, Greece, Scandinavia, Egypt and Palestine.

Amerling married four times. In 1858 he bought a small castle in the Gumpendorf district of Vienna and filled it with art; locals called it the Amerlingschlössl, and he received writers and musicians such as Franz Liszt there. He was ennobled in 1878 as Friedrich Ritter von Amerling, and died in Vienna on 14 January 1887.

Style and Subjects

Amerling painted more than a thousand works, mostly portraits. His style combines clear outlines with rich colour, close to Ingres, and the confident brushwork and glamour he learned from Lawrence.

His sitters, from the emperor to Viennese families and children, are shown with elegance and warmth, in silks, velvets and fur against dark or softly lit backgrounds. He also painted romantic figure subjects, such as young women in Oriental dress or reading letters.

Famous Works

• Emperor Franz I of Austria in Imperial Robes (1832), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The emperor in full imperial dress.
• Count Majláth with Family (1832). A Hungarian aristocratic family group.
• Henriette Baroness Pereira-Arnstein with her Daughter Flora (1833). A mother and daughter from Viennese high society.
• Princess Marie Franziska of Liechtenstein at Two Years of Age (1836), Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna. A much-loved portrait of a small princess, later used on an Austrian stamp.
• Count István Széchenyi (1836), Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. The Hungarian statesman and reformer.
• The Letter (1837). A romantic figure painting of a young woman with a letter.
• The Young Eastern Woman (1838), Cleveland Museum of Art. A young woman in Oriental dress, one of his romantic figure studies.

Decorating with Amerling Prints

Amerling's portraits suit elegant, traditional rooms: a dining room, drawing room or entrance hall with panelling, rich wall colours and gilt frames. His family groups and children's portraits, such as Ludmilla Amerling as a Child, bring warmth to a living room or landing.

The romantic figure paintings and portraits of women suit a bedroom or sitting room, and a pair of portraits makes a classic arrangement either side of a fireplace.

FAQ

Who was Friedrich von Amerling?

Friedrich von Amerling was an Austrian portrait painter who lived from 1803 to 1887. He was court painter in Vienna and one of the leading portrait painters of the Biedermeier period.

What is Amerling's most famous painting?

His state portrait of Emperor Franz I (1832) in the Kunsthistorisches Museum and his portrait of Princess Marie Franziska of Liechtenstein (1836) are among his best known.

Who influenced Friedrich von Amerling?

The English portraitist Sir Thomas Lawrence, whom he met in London, was a major influence. He also studied with Horace Vernet in Paris, and his style is often compared with Ingres.

What was the Biedermeier period?

The Biedermeier period, roughly 1815 to 1848, was a time of middle-class comfort and domestic culture in Austria and Germany. Amerling was its most popular portraitist, painting both the high aristocracy and the prosperous middle class.

Where can I see Amerling's paintings?

Most of his work remains in Austria, including in the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. Other works are in Berlin, Budapest and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Related Artists

• Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: the other great Austrian portraitist of his age
• Sir Thomas Lawrence: English portraitist who influenced him in London
• Horace Vernet: his teacher in Paris
• Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres: French master whose style his resembles
• Josef Danhauser: Viennese Biedermeier painter of the same generation