Johann Friedrich Overbeck

Johann Friedrich Overbeck , 1789-1869, German religious painter. Expelled from the Vienna Academy because of his opposition to its classicism, he went to Rome and with Peter von Cornelius, Veit, Schadow-Godenhaus, and others, formed the group known as the Nazarenes . His first real successes were his frescoes for the Casa Bartholdy (now in Berlin) and for the Villa Massimo. Among his notable paintings are Christ's Entry into Jerusalem and Christ's Agony in the Garden. Overbeck sought to make his art serve religion. His influence was due more to the purity of his doctrine than to the power of his work, which is often lacking in pictorial appeal and in color.

Overbeck, Friedrich (b Lübeck, 3 July 1789; d Rome, 12 Nov. 1869). German painter, the leading member of the Nazarenes. He moved to Rome in 1810 and was based there for the rest of his life, although he made several visits to Germany. In 1813 he was converted to Roman Catholicism and apart from a few portraits (there is a self-portrait in the Uffizi, Florence) his work was almost exclusively on religious themes. He painted in a consciously archaic style—clear and sincere but rather pallid—based on the work of Perugino and the young Raphael. His best-known painting is perhaps the Rose Miracle of St Francis (Porziuncola Chapel, S. Maria degli Angeli, Assisi, 1829). The high-minded and didactic tone of his work won it a more sympathetic acceptance (particularly in England) than its artistic quality alone merited. William Dyce and Ford Madox Brown were among his supporters and there were affinities between his aspirations and those of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Overbeck, Friedrich (1789–1869). German painter, the leading member of the Nazarenes. He moved to Rome in 1810 and was based there for the rest of his life, although he made several visits to Germany. In 1813 he was converted to Roman Catholicism and apart from a few portraits (there is a self-portrait in the Uffizi, Florence) his work was almost exclusively on religious themes. He painted in a consciously archaic style—clear and sincere but rather pallid—based on the work of Perugino and the young Raphael. His best-known painting is perhaps the Rose Miracle of St Francis (1829, Porziuncola Chapel, S.Maria degli Angeli, Assisi). The high-minded and didactic tone of his work won it a more sympathetic acceptance (particularly in England) than its artistic quality alone merited. William Dyce and Ford Madox Brown were among his supporters and there were affinities between his aspirations and those of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.