Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869)
Germany

Overbeck came from a well-situated family. His father was a senator and later a mayor. First, he attended painting lessons in his hometown of Lübeck, where he was taught by J. Peroux. Overbeck enrolled in the Vienna Academy of art in 1806, but was subsequently expelled after declaring his opposition to Classicism. He left the academy for Rome. There he formed the German Romantic school of the Nazarenes, who painted religious scenes in a medieval and high-Renaissance style. The Nazarenes consisted of Peter von Cornelius, Veit, Schadow-Godenhaus and other German Romantics. In 1813 he converted to Catholicism and he tried to paint a new image of Christ, one that people would revere. Alas, he failed.

Works

Storie di Giuseppe in Egitto (1816-1817) fresco
Gerusalemme Liberata (1819-1830) fresco
Vittoria Caldoni (1821) oil on canvas
Italia and Germania. Date uncertain. Oil on canvas, 8 5/8 x 10". Collection George Schäfer, Obbach.
Trionfo della religione nelle arti (1840) oil on canvas