Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793–1865) was an Austrian painter, born in Vienna, and one of the most important artists of the Biedermeier period. He entered the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 1807 and returned to the city in 1817 after working as an art teacher and a theatre set designer. He became a professor at the Academy in 1819. He painted portraits, genre scenes, still lifes and landscapes; his portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven dates from 1823 and is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Waldmüller argued that teaching should be based on the direct study of nature and championed painting out of doors, and this brought him into conflict with the Academy, which forced him to retire in 1857. Among his well-known works are Venetian Fruit Seller (1826), On All Souls' Day (1839), After School (1841), The Love Letter (1849) and Return from the Church Fair (1859). He was readmitted to Vienna's art circles in 1863 and received a knighthood in 1865. He died in Hinterbrühl in August 1865.