Heinrich Füger

Heinrich Friedrich Füger (8 December 1751 – 5 November 1818) was a German portrait and historical painter and one of the most important German representatives of classicism.

Füger was born in Heilbronn. He was the son of Joseph Gabriel Füger, a Pietist pastor and later the highest-ranking clergyman in Heilbronn (senior member of the Protestant Ministry in Heilbronn). Füger began his training as a painter in 1764 with court painter Nicolas Guibal at the Hohe Karlsschule in Stuttgart. From 1769, he continued his studies in Leipzig with Johann Wolfgang Goethe's drawing teacher Adam Friedrich Oeser.

He then undertook a study trip to Italy. In 1774, he moved to Vienna. The English ambassador to the Viennese court, Robert Murray Keith (British Army officer), became his patron and supporter. Through him, he came into contact with the imperial family. From then on, his further education and career were promoted by the highest political authorities. In the fall of 1776, he received a scholarship for a study visit to Rome lasting several years. His further artistic development was strongly influenced by Anton Raphael Mengs.