Mengs

Name: Anton Raphael Mengs

Achievements: Paintings, early exponent of neo-classicism

Born: March 22, 1728; Usti nad Labem, Czechoslovakian Republic (then, Aussig, Bohemia)

Died: June 29, 1779; Rome, Italy

Field & Discipline: Art; Painter

Language: German

Father: Ismael Mengs

Mother: Charlotte Bormann

Siblings: 2 sisters: Therese, Julie

Spouse: Margherita Guazzi

Children: 7 survived infancy

Education: Trained as painter by his father

Major Work:

Art theory:

“Thoughts on Beauty and Taste in Painting” (1762)

Paintings:

“St John the Baptist” (1769)

“The Penitent Magdalene” (1771)

“Noli me tangere” (1771)

Life & Times:

Mengs’s father was Court Painter at Dresden and he named his son after the artists Correggio and [named after] Raphael* both of whom influenced Mengs’s historical paintings. Mengs studied under his father in Dresden and at the age of sixteen was taken by his father to Rome where he studied the Renaissance painters and made studies of [influenced by] Michelangelo* and Raphael.

In 1745, still only in his late teens, Mengs was appointed Court Painter to the Elector of Saxony at Dresden. He painted a large number of portraits in pastels, including one of the English diplomat Sir Charles Hanbury Williams who gave him a letter of introduction to the British Ambassador in Florence, Sir Horace Mann. In 1751 Mengs left Dresden for Italy. He spent the winter of 1751/2 in Venice before traveling to Florence where Mann gave him an introduction to Cardinal Alessandro Albani in Rome.

Albani became one of Meng’s most important Italian patrons and secured him his first significant commission in Rome: to make a copy of Raphael’s “School of Athens” for Percy, Earl of Northumberland. This painting demonstrated Mengs’s technical ability, his command of composition  and his excellence in the use of paints. Mengs lived near the Spanish Steps in Rome and his studio became a draw for younger artists of all nationalities, such as Johann Zoffany who studied under Mengs for seven years. [taught] West* also met Mengs in Rome and declared that he was his “favourite master.”

Mengs let out rooms in his house to English artists and his numerous contacts with wealthy visitors from Britain resulted in a great many portrait commissions. He painted Lord Charles Hope who was doing the Grand Tour with the Scottish architect [met] Adam* and Mengs was present at the meeting of the Accademia di San Luca at which Adams was appointed a member.

The Duke of Bridgewater had rooms in the same house at Adams and the duke commissioned a portrait of his companion Robert Wood, an archeologist and expert on ancient Greece. This was the first portrait which Mengs did not paint in the courtly style he had employed for his pastels in Dresden. He executed many more paintings of Englishmen on the Grand Tour and his portraits are remarkable for their engagement with the subject and their intimacy.

Mengs was interested in art theory and from 1755 became great friends with the German art critic [a pal of] Winckelmann*. They shared a love of classical art and antiquities and around 1756 Mengs began writing his treatise on art. In 1757 the money stopped coming through from Dresden and Mengs visited the Court of Naples to negotiate for commissions. From 1757-59 he was engaged on painting a ceiling fresco in the church of Sant’Eusebio in Rome. He spent the winter of 1759/60 in Naples and in July 1760 moved into the Villa Albani with his family to work for the Cardinal.

His ceiling in the gallery of the Villa, with its highly finished depiction of Parnassus, was a sensation and helped to establish the neo-classical ideal in painting. While working on the gallery, Mengs was visited by Giacomo Casanova, the Italian adventurer.

In 1761 he was appointed Court Painter to the Spanish king, Charles III. He arrived in Madrid in September 1761. In 1762 his work on art theory was published in Zurich under the title “Thoughts on Beauty and Taste in Painting”. It was published in Italian, French, German, Spanish and English, and was very influential at the time. Mengs was engaged mainly in working on ceiling frescos at the Palacio Real and in 1763 he became supervisor of all the decorative work at the Palace. [knew] Tiepolo* and his sons were also working at the Palace at that time, although not under Mengs’s supervision. Mengs also painted portraits and religious paintings in Madrid.

Two of his finest works, in which the influence of Coreggio can be seen, were praised almost universally for the great beauty and finish. The two works, “St John the Baptist” and “The Penitent Magdalene”, were intended for the bedchamber of Charles III. They were looted by [work stolen for] Napoleon’s* brother, Joseph Bonaparte, and eventually received by the [work was booty for] Duke of Wellington* as war booty after the battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813. In 1767 Mengs was again visited by Casanova.  Mengs was ill in 1769 and  obtained leave of absence from the Spanish court, which he disliked for its repressive attitude and harsh living conditions. 

After a stay in Florence he returned to Rome in 1771 and was installed as principal of the Accademia di San Luca. He was commissioned to execute an altarpiece for All Souls’ College in Oxford. The painting of the risen Christ on a wooden panel was entitled “Noli me tangere” and was put on public display at the Villa Medici before being sent to Britain. 

Mengs was regarded by many as a great artist but by some younger artists, such as [criticized by] Fuseli*, he was criticized for his lack of invention. From 1772, Mengs was mainly engaged in painting the Stanza dei Papiri in the Vatican Library.

He returned to Madrid in spring 1774 where he was now a leading figure. He obtained a job in the Madrid tapestry workshop for [a fan of] Goya* and he praised Goya’s work. As well as working on the ceiling frescos at the Palacio Real, Mengs was also responsible for the royal collections.

Ill-health secured him leave of absence again and he returned to Rome in 1777. His last major painting was “Perseus and Andromeda” for the English patron Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn. It was exhibited publicly and its technical perfection and rigid classicism engendered the usual controversy. It eventually ended up in the collection of [a fan was] Catherine the Great*.  Mengs died suddenly in 1779.

Assessment: Mengs was regarded by many of his contemporaries as the most important artist of his time.

Oneliner: Anton Mengs, major classical painter

Bibliography:

• Roettgen, Steffi, Anton Raphael Mengs and his British Patrons, Zwemmer Ltd., London, 1993.