Emanuel Leutze
| Emanuel Leutze | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
May 24, 1816 Schwäbisch Gmünd, Württemberg, German Confederation |
| Died | July 18, 1868 (aged 52) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Glenwood Cemetery |
| Nationality | German American |
| Education |
John Rubens Smith Karl Friedrich Lessing |
| Known for | History painter |
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (May 24, 1816 – July 18, 1868) was a German American history painter best known for his painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.
Leutze was born in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Württemberg, Germany, and was brought to the United States as a child. His parents settled first in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and then at Philadelphia. His early education was good, though not especially in the direction of art. The first development of his artistic talent occurred while he was attending the sickbed of his father, when he attempted drawing to occupy the long hours of waiting. His father died in 1831. At 14, he was painting portraits for $5 apiece. Through such work, he supported himself after the death of his father. In 1834, he received his first instruction in art in classes of John Rubens Smith, a portrait painter in Philadelphia. He soon became skilled, and promoted a plan for publishing, in Washington, portraits of eminent American statesmen; however, he met with but slight encouragement.
In 1840, one of his paintings attracted attention and procured him several orders, which enabled him to go to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. In due to his antiacademic attitude, he studied only one year at the academy (in the class of Director Schadow). Mainly Leutze was affected by the painter Lessing. In 1842 he went to Munich, studying the works of Cornelius and Kaulbach, and, while there, finished his Columbus before the Queen. The following year he visited Venice and Rome, making studies from Titian and Michelangelo. His first work, Columbus before the Council of Salamanca was purchased by the Düsseldorf Art Union. A companion picture, Columbus in Chains, procured him the gold medal of the Brussels Art Exhibition, and was subsequently purchased by the Art Union in New York; it was the basis of the 1893 $2 Columbian Issue stamp. In 1845, after a tour in Italy, he returned to Düsseldorf, marrying Juliane Lottner and making his home there for 14 years.
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