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Anton Graff · Около 1794
Anton Graff: 1736–1813
Other names (9)
A. Graf, a. graff, Anthony Graff, anton graft, Carl Anton Graff, Graf, Graff, graff anton, Schüler des Anton Graff
Biography
Anton Graff (18 November 1736 – 22 June 1813) was a Swiss portrait artist.
Among his famous subjects were Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick the Great, Friederike Sophie Seyler, Johann Gottfried Herder, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Moses Mendelssohn and Christian Felix Weiße. His pupils included Emma Körner, Philipp Otto Runge and Karl Ludwig Kaaz.
Anton Graff was born as the seventh child of the craftsman Ulrich Graff and Barbara Graff née Koller, at Untertorgasse 8 in Winterthur, Switzerland (the house no longer exists). In 1753, Graff started studying painting at the art school of Johann Ulrich Schellenberg, in Winterthur. After three years he left for Augsburg. There he worked with the etcher Johann Jakob Haid. However, only one year later he was forced to leave Augsburg.
He was too successful, and the members of the local painters guild feared his competition. With a letter of recommendation from Johann Jakob Haid, he moved to Ansbach where he found employment with the court painter Leonhard Schneider until 1759. Graff travelled frequently to Munich to study paintings in different collections.
Wikipedia contributors. Opening excerpt, formatted for reading. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision.
Later influence
- Joseph Willibrord Mählereditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified. Teaching is recorded separately and does not itself establish artistic influence.
- Caspar David Friedricheditorial inference
Evidence
Direction is outward from Anton Graff to Runge and Friedrich. Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Philipp Otto Rungeeditorial inference
Evidence
Direction is outward from Anton Graff to Runge and Friedrich. Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
Artworks by year
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Museums & collections
Documented holdings of works attributed to Anton Graff. Check the museum’s record for current display information.
- National Gallery of Art3 recorded works
- Art Institute of Chicago2 recorded works
- Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts2 recorded works
- Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe2 recorded works
- Finnish National Gallery1 recorded work
- Musée du Louvre1 recorded work
- Royal Castle in Warsaw1 recorded work
Sources 11
- Wikidata (CC0)
- National Gallery of Art
- Country research — museum-connected artworks and verified painter affiliations
- Museum authority country review
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Museum authority country review
- Polish museum and gallery creator authorities
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Expanded artwork research — official museum evidence
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Louvre painter identity and WikiArt profile links
Art, literature & history