Anton Raphael Mengs

Key facts

Lived

1728–1779^[5]

Movement

• portrait

^[5]

Works held in

55 museums^[1]

Wikipedia

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• Portrait of Johann Dietrich Heumann (1724-1774)

  Kunsthalle Bremen

  Mitte, Germany

  1 works

  Museum detailsMap
• The Annunciation

  Weston Park

  Weston-under-Lizard, United Kingdom

  1 works

  Museum detailsMap

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• What is Anton Raphael Mengs known for?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs is credited with introducing neoclassicism to Rome. He was considered perhaps even more famous than Batoni.
• What is Anton Raphael Mengs's most famous work?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs (1728^[5]-1779^[5]) was a painter born in Bohemia. His father, Ismael Mengs, who served as court painter to Augustus III in Dresden, gave Anton his first lessons. The family relocated to Rome so Anton could study classical art. By 1749^[5], Anton was appointed first painter to Frederick Augustus, though he soon went back to Rome. There, he married a former model, gave up Protestantism, and secured a teaching position at the Accademia Capitolina. Mengs received commissions for portraits and frescoes. These included portraits of Frederick-Christian, Elector of Saxony (1751), Pope Clement XIII (1758), and Johann Joachim Winckelmann. He painted the fresco La Gloria di Sant’ Eusebio in the church of Saint Eustache and worked in the chapel of the Palace of Caserta. While employed by Carlos III of Spain, Mengs painted the ceiling of the banqueting hall of the Palacio Real in Madrid. He is sometimes described as slightly more famous than Pompeo Batoni.
• What should I know about Anton Raphael Mengs's prints?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs (1728^[5]-1779^[5]) was a painter who helped introduce Neoclassicism in Rome. His father, Ismael Mengs, was a court painter in Dresden. Ismael relocated the family to Rome so Anton could study classically inspired art. By 1749^[5], Anton was appointed first painter to Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony. After a short time in Dresden, he returned to Rome. He secured a teaching position at the Accademia Capitolina by 1754. Mengs believed line was less important than colour. This view supported a revival of the disegno versus colore debate between the "Poussinistes" and the "Rubenists". Mengs also completed commissions in Spain for Carlos III, whose portrait^[5] he painted in 1761. A well-known work from his time in Spain is the ceiling of the banqueting hall of the Palacio Real in Madrid. Mengs painted religious and historical subjects in the heroic style of the Neoclassical era. He also painted portraits of Augustus III, King of Poland, and Johann Winckelmann.
• What style or movement did Anton Raphael Mengs belong to?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs (1728^[5]-1779^[5]) is credited with introducing Neoclassicism to Rome. Born in Bohemia, Mengs received early training from his father, Ismael Mengs, a court painter in Dresden. Ismael named his son Raphael after the Renaissance artist. In 1741^[5], the family relocated to Rome to study classical art. By 1749, Mengs was appointed first painter to Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony. However, he soon returned to Rome. There, he secured a teaching position at the Accademia Capitolina in 1754. Mengs advocated for colour over line, contributing to the "disegno versus colore" debate. Mengs's association with Johann Joachim Winckelmann, an aesthetic theorist, aided his career. Winckelmann introduced him to Cardinal Alessandro Albani, a collector of antiquities. Mengs's commissions included a copy of Raphael’s School of Athens in 1755. From the late 1750s until his death, Mengs produced major Neoclassical paintings, including a portrait^[5] of Pope Clement XIII (1758). He also worked in Spain for Carlos III, painting the ceiling of the banqueting hall at the Palacio Real in Madrid.
• What techniques or materials did Anton Raphael Mengs use?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs was a painter active in the mid-1700s. Historical accounts suggest he focused on oil-on-canvas techniques, avoiding fresco painting. This specialisation allowed him to master the medium, using excellent pigments and binders that he prepared himself. Mengs employed oil glazes to achieve clarity in his compositions. He used heavy, viscous binders early in his career. This allowed a fluid application, especially in Naples and later works, permitting independent treatment of his subjects. Mengs did not try to disguise his brushstrokes. The fluidity of his paintings is apparent, and his working methods are visible in the finished work. Some contemporaries claimed that Mengs concentrated solely on the complexion, skin, blood, and natural surfaces, setting aside other artistic considerations. One went so far as to suggest that Mengs mixed real flesh into his colours to achieve certain skin tones.
• What was Anton Raphael Mengs known for?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs (1728^[5]-1779^[5]) was a painter born in Bohemia. He is credited with introducing neoclassicism to Rome. His father, Ismael Mengs, was a portrait^[5] painter in Dresden. Ismael ensured that Anton studied painting from the age of twelve, and took his family to Rome to study classically inspired art. By 1749^[5], Anton was appointed first painter to Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony. After a short period in Dresden, he returned to Rome. Mengs gained a teaching position at the Accademia Capitolina, a public drawing school established in 1754. He was a proponent of colour over line, reviving the disegno versus colore debate. Mengs made brief trips to Spain at the request of Carlos III, whose portrait he painted in 1761. A well-reputed work from his time in Spain is the ceiling of the banqueting hall of the Palacio Real in Madrid. He painted portraits of Augustus III in 1745, Pope Clement XIII in 1758, and Johann Joachim Winckelmann.
• Where can I see Anton Raphael Mengs's work?+

  Paintings by Anton Raphael Mengs are held by many museums and collections, mainly in Europe and the United States. These include the Staatliche Museen (East and West Berlin), the Musée Fesch (Ajaccio, Corsica), the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Copenhagen), and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (Dresden). In England, his work can be seen at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham; and in a private collection in Surrey. In the United States, Mengs's paintings are in the Art Institute of Chicago; the Detroit Institute of Arts; the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts); the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Baltimore Museum of Art; the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.); and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (Sarasota). Other locations include the Nationalmuseum (Stockholm); the National Trust (Stour Head, Wiltshire); the Galleria Sabauda (Turin); and the Kunsthistorisches Museum and Graf Harrach’sche Gemäldegalerie (Vienna).
• Where was Anton Raphael Mengs from?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs was born in 1728^[5] in a small town in Bohemia. His father, Ismael Mengs, was a Danish portrait^[5] painter who held a court position in Dresden for Augustus III. Ismael named his son after Renaissance artists; Anton began studying painting at age 12. His father moved the family to Rome to study classical art. By 1749^[5], Anton was established enough to be appointed first painter to Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony. After a short period in Dresden, he returned to Rome, married, and converted to Catholicism. He never moved north again. Mengs gained a teaching position at the Accademia Capitolina, a public drawing school founded in 1754 by Pope Benedict XIV. He argued that line was less important than colour, which revived the disegno versus colore debate between the "Poussinistes" and the "Rubenists". For the remainder of his life, Mengs only briefly left Italy, travelling to Spain at the request of Carlos III; he painted Carlos's portrait in 1761. One noted work from his time in Spain is the scene on the ceiling of the banqueting hall of the Palacio Real in Madrid.
• Who did Anton Raphael Mengs influence?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs (1728^[5]-1779^[5]) is credited with introducing neoclassicism in Rome. Mengs gained a teaching position at the Accademia Capitolina, a public school of drawing established in 1754^[5] by Pope Benedict XIV. In that role, he taught drawing and espoused the idea that line was subordinate to colour. His position helped revive the earlier disegno versus colore debate between the “Poussinistes” and the “Rubenists”. He is credited with training a large number of artists at the Imperial Academy of Arts until his death in Saint Petersburg in 1835. Mengs met many English patrons of the arts at the Academy of Saint Luke. Mengs's reputation in Rome owed much to Johann Joachim Winckelmann, whose aesthetic theories he espoused. Mengs painted portraits of King August III (1745), Frederick Christian, Pope Clement XIII (1758), and Johann Winckelmann.
• Who was Anton Raphael Mengs?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs was a painter born in Bohemia. He is credited with introducing neoclassicism to Rome, according to the Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture.
• What was Anton Raphael Mengs's art style?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs introduced neoclassicism to Rome. One of his self-portraits depicts him in simple clothing, with unkempt hair and tired features.
• When was Anton Raphael Mengs born?+

  Anton Raphael Mengs was born in 1728^[5]. Anton Raphael Mengs died in 1779^[5], aged 51.