Marianne Kraus
Marianne Kraus (oil paint on canvas, painter unknown)
Born
Maria Anna Walburga Lämmerhirt

(1765-05-08)May 8, 1765
DiedMay 24, 1838(1838-05-24) (aged 73)
NationalityGerman
Known forPaintings
Writings

Maria Anna Walburga Lämmerhirt (nickname, "Marianne"; 8 May 1765 - 24 May 1838) was a German painter, drafter, travel writer, and lady-in-waiting. Through her diary, Für mich gemerkt auf meiner Reise nach Italien 1791, she contributed to travel literature.

Early years and education

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Maria Kraus was born in Buchen (Odenwald). Her parents were Joseph Bernhard Kraus, a clerk, and Anna Dorothea née Schmidt. Her father's family, originally from Augsburg, had a small restaurant in Weilbach near Amorbach; her mother was a daughter of the master-builder at Miltenberg, Johann Martin Schmidt. They had fourteen children, of whom 7 died in childhood. Joseph Martin Kraus was a brother of Marianne's. The children studied with Rector Georg Pfister, and Marianne took piano lessons from Cantor Bernhard Franz Wendler.[1] She received more formal education in Mannheim and at the drawing and painting school in Mainz. Later, she studied with the landscape painter Ferdinand von Kobell (1740-1799) in Mannheim; in 1781 with Caspar Schneider (1753-1839) in Mainz; and finally, in 1785-86, with Christian Georg Schütz (1718-1791) and Johann Georg Pforr (1745-1798).

Career

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Serving as a lady-in-waiting of Countess Charlotte von Erbach-Erbach und Wartenberg-Roth (1755-1844), in 1791, she undertook a six-month trip to Italy,[2] and met in Rome and Naples artists such as Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), Jacob Philipp Hackert (1737-1807), and Wilhelm Tischbein (1751-1829). Through her diary, Für mich gemerkt auf meiner Reise nach Italien 1791, she contributed to travel literature;[3] it was first published in 1931, and then again in 1996 by Helmut Brosch.

In 1798, Kraus married Georg Lämmerhirt (1763-1813), court council, and son of a teacher and organist. Lämmerhirt received his education in Göttingen in evangelical theology, but made a career as an administrator. Kraus was the younger talented sister of German composer Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792). Her grandson, Karl Friedrich Schreiber (1864-1933) was the first German biographer of Joseph Martin Kraus. She died on 24 May 1838 at Erbach im Odenwald.

References

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  1. ^ Brosch & Buchen 2003, p. 35.
  2. ^ Findlen, Roworth & Sama 2009, p. 203.
  3. ^ Eigler & Kord 1997, p. 523.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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