Johann Zoffany – German painter

Johann Zoffany Children from the Blunt family
Children from the Blunt family

Johann Zoffany (March 13, 1733 – November 11, 1810) was a famous German artist of the second half of the 18th century, an outstanding master of neoclassical portraiture. He liked to depict the subjects of his paintings in a relaxed atmosphere, surrounded by all sorts of works of art or against the backdrop of nature.

Johann Zoffany also worked fruitfully in the historical and everyday genres. And thanks to his extraordinary talent, at the beginning of his career, he enjoyed the special patronage of the English King George III, having painted dozens of portraits of the all-powerful monarch and members of his family.

Johann Zoffany The looting of the Royal Wine Cellar on 10 August 1792
The looting of the Royal Wine Cellar on 10 August 1792

Biography of Johann Zoffany

Johann Zoffany was born on March 13, 1733 in Frankfurt am Main in the family of an architect and furniture maker. His mother was from Bohemia, and on the paternal side, Hungarian blood flowed in the veins of the future painter. At the age of fifteen, Johann moved with his parents to Regensburg, where he enrolled to study with the local artist Martin Speer. Having mastered the basics of painting, in 1750 Zoffani went to Rome for further study. In the capital of Italy, he immediately managed to get a job in the workshop of Agostino Masucci.

Returning to his homeland in 1760, Johann married for the first time and this marriage was extremely unsuccessful. Together with his young wife, he soon left for England, and a year later he left his wife and began to live separately, although he could not obtain an official divorce due to the severity of the laws of that era.

Settling in London, Johann Zoffany was initially forced to make a living painting patterns on watches. But thanks to a happy accident, he met the famous actor David Garrick, and this event played a crucial role in his fate.

Johann Zoffany Parsons, Bransby
Parsons, Bransby
Johann Zoffany David Garrick and his wife outside the Shakespeare Chapel in the Hamptons
David Garrick and his wife outside the Shakespeare Chapel in the Hamptons

Garrick turned out to be a very influential person and a devoted friend.

First he invited Zoffany to live in his house, then he offered a well-paid job making stage sets. A few years later, he introduced the artist to King George III. Johann brilliantly took advantage of this opportunity and at the first meeting made a favorable impression on the king.

Thanks to the patronage of Garrick, Zoffany received the first order from the British monarch to paint a family portrait and treated this difficult task very conscientiously. The king really liked the picture, and from that moment on, the career of 30-year-old Johann grew.

In 1768, the British Royal Academy of Arts was founded, to which Zoffany was admitted on the recommendation of the king. The German painter acquired extensive connections in London’s high society and became a very sought-after master. But already in 1772, the artist suddenly fell out of favor due to the machinations of ill-wishers who convinced the monarch that Johann was discrediting his name by depicting members of the imperial family next to commoners in his paintings.

Drummond family
Drummond family

George III stripped his recent favorite of the title of academician.

In this situation, Johann decided to leave London and went to Italy. He was followed by a young mistress, Mary Thomas, who subsequently bore the master five children. In 1805, after the death of his first wife, she officially became his second wife.

For more than ten years, Johann Zoffany lived in Florence, where he painted many interesting paintings. And in 1783, the artist, in search of new vivid impressions, sailed to India and spent almost six years in this overseas country, creating dozens of portraits of family members of wealthy British colonists.

Sir Elijah, Lady Impey and their three children
Sir Elijah, Lady Impey and their three children

Finally, in 1789, after a seventeen-year absence, Johann returned to London, but by then everyone had forgotten about him. New masters appeared on the art market, with whom the 56-year-old painter could no longer compete on an equal footing. The elderly artist bought a house on the outskirts of the British capital and soon stopped painting. The money earned during his career was enough for him to provide for his family until his death. On November 11, 1810, Johann Zoffany passed away forever at the age of 77. His remains were buried in the cemetery near the Church of St. Anne, next to the grave of another outstanding master – Thomas Gainsborough.

Moonlit Scene with Indians and Elephants among the Banyan Trees
Moonlit Scene with Indians and Elephants among the Banyan Trees
The Dutton family in the living room from Sherborne Park
The Dutton family in the living room from Sherborne Park
Children of the 4th Duke of Devonshire
Children of the 4th Duke of Devonshire
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