Christoph Ludwig Agricola

(Redirected from C. L. Agricola)

Christoph Ludwig Agricola (5 November 1665 – 8 August 1724)[1] was a German landscape painter and etcher. He was born and died in Regensburg (Ratisbon).

Christoph Ludwig Agricola
Portrait engraving by Bernhard Vogel
Born5 November 1665
Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
Died8 August 1724(1724-08-08) (aged 58)
Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
Known forPainting, etching

Life and career

edit

Christoph Ludwig Agricola was born on 5 November 1665 in Regensburg in Germany. He trained, as many painters of the period did, by studying nature.[2]

He spent a great part of his life in travel visiting England, the Netherlands and France, and residing for a considerable period in Naples, where he may have been influenced by Nicolas Poussin.[3][4] He also stayed in Venice for several years around 1712, where he painted many works for Zaccaria Sagredo.[5]

He died in Regensburg in 1724.

Work

edit

Although he primarily worked in gouache and oils, documentary sources show that he also produced a small number of etchings.[6] He was a good draughtsman, used warm lighting and exhibited a warm, masterly brushstroke.[7]

His numerous landscapes, chiefly cabinet pictures, are remarkable for their fidelity to nature, and especially for their skilful representation of varied phases of climate, especially nocturnal scenes and weather phenomena like thunderstorms.[3][8] In composition, his style shows the influence of Nicolas Poussin: Agricola's work often displays idealistic scenes like Poussin's work.[9] In light and colour Agricola's work resembles that of Claude Lorrain. His compositions often include ruins of ancient buildings in the foreground, but his favourite foreground figures were men dressed in Oriental attire.[7] He also produced a series of etchings of birds.[10]

His pictures can be found in Dresden, Braunschweig, Vienna, Florence, Naples and many other locations in Germany and Italy.

Legacy

edit

He probably tutored the artist Johann Theile and had a strong influence on him.[11] Art historians have also noted that the work of the landscape painter Christian Johann Bendeler (1699–1728) was influenced by Agricola.[8]

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Braun-Ronsdorf, Margarete (1953), "Agricola, Christoph Ludwig", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 98; (full text online)
  2. ^ Viardot, L., An Illustrated History of Painters of All Schools, Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1877, p. 258; Kugler, F., Handbook of Painting: The German, Flemish, and Dutch Schools, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1874, p. 567
  3. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Agricola, Christoph Ludwig". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 386.
  4. ^ Viardot, L., An Illustrated History of Painters of All Schools, Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1877, p. 258; Kugler, F., Waagen, F.G. and Crowe, J.A., The German, Flemish and Dutch Schools of Painting, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1911, p. 567
  5. ^ Boni, Page 8
  6. ^ Ottley, W., Notices of Engravers, and Their Works, being the Commencement of a new Dictionary, which it is not intended to continue, containing some account of upwards of three hundred masters, etc, 1831
  7. ^ a b Kugler, F., Handbook of Painting: The German, Flemish, and Dutch Schools, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1874, p. 567
  8. ^ a b Koziel, A., "The Forgotten Star of Wroclaw: A Few Words about the Work of Christian Johann Bendeler (1699–1728)" in: Šeferisová Loudová, M., Kroupa, J. and Lubomír, K., Orbis artium: k jubileu Lubomíra Slavíčka, Vol. 1, Brno, Masarykova Univerzita, 2009, pp. 219–233 PDF Online:
  9. ^ Macfall, H., The Renaissance in the North; and the Flemish Genius, [Volume 4 in the series, History of Painting], Dana Estes and Company, 2004, p.145
  10. ^ Watercolours, Pictures and Prints of Birds [Auction Catalogue], Christie, Manson & Woods, 1989, pp 18–19
  11. ^ Killy, W. and Vierhaus, R., Thibaut – Zycha, Walter de Gruyter, 2011, p. 2; Kugler, F., Waagen, F.G. and Crowe, J.A., The German, Flemish and Dutch Schools of Painting, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1911, p. 567

Further reading

edit