Joachim Von Sandrart

Joachim Von Sandrart , 1606-88, German painter. An academic painter fond of chiaroscuro effects, Sandrart is best remembered for his comprehensive history of art (1675). This history records invaluable information on Sandrart's German contemporaries.

Sandrart, Joachim von (1606–88). German painter and writer on art. He travelled widely and was the most highly regarded German artist of his day but he is now remembered almost exclusively for his treatise Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste (German Academy of the Noble Arts of Architecture, Sculpture and Painting), published in Nuremberg in 1675–9 (a Latin edition followed in 1683). This treatise, organized into three main parts, is a sourcebook of major importance. The first part is an introduction to the arts of architecture, painting, and sculpture put together largely from material taken from earlier sources such as Vasari and van Mander. The second part, consisting of biographies of artists, likewise contains much material borrowed from previous writers but also much that is original, in particular about German artists and on contemporary artists whom the author knew personally (including Claude and Poussin). The third part contains information about art collections and a study of iconography; remarkably Sandrart also included in his book a chapter on Far Eastern art. Sandrart was the first director (1662) of the Academy at Nuremberg (the earliest such in Germany).

Sandrart, Joachim von (b Frankfurt, 12 May 1606; d Nuremberg, 14 Oct. 1688). German painter and writer on art. He travelled widely and was the most highly regarded German artist of his day but he is now remembered almost exclusively for his treatise Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau-, Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste (German Academy of the Noble Arts of Architecture, Sculpture and Painting), published in Nuremberg in 1675–9 (a Latin edition followed in 1683). This treatise, organized into three main parts, is a sourcebook of major importance. The first part is an introduction to the arts of architecture, painting, and sculpture put together largely from material taken from earlier sources such as Vasari and van Mander. The second part, consisting of biographies of artists, likewise contains much material borrowed from previous writers but also much that is original, in particular about German artists and on contemporary artists whom the author knew personally (including Claude and Poussin). The third part contains information about art collections and a study of iconography; remarkably Sandrart also included in his book a chapter on Far Eastern art. Sandrart was the first director (1662) of the Academy at Nuremberg (the earliest such in Germany). The immense prestige he enjoyed is reflected in his grand self-portrait (Historisches Museum, Frankfurt).