Background
He was the son of a Reformed pastor.
He was the son of a Reformed pastor.
After that, he studied with Andreas Scheits in Hanover and Nicolas de Largillière in Paris. He completed his studies in the Netherlands and was a court painter for King Frederick William I of Prussia in Berlin from 1703 to 1707.
The family was very poor, so he was apparently given into the care of a German staff officer named Dölfer, who promised to provide him with an education. He first went to Lüneburg, then on to Hamburg for further schooling. In 1707, he entered the service of Francis II Rákóczi.
He followed the Prince to Poland in 1711, but remained there rather than continue on to France.
While there, he was commissioned to do a portrait of King Augustus II and became a court painter in 1717. After 1731, he lived in Dresden and Leipzig and, in 1736, once again became a court painter, this time for Augustus III of Poland.
He resigned in 1753, over the issue of unpaid salary. He died in Dresden at the age of 84, totally impoverished, and had to be buried by friends.