Background
He was born into a noble family of Baltic-Germans dating back to the 15th Century.
He was born into a noble family of Baltic-Germans dating back to the 15th Century.
He participated in several campaigns during the Napoleonic Wars as a cavalry lieutenant and lost his right arm at the Battle of Leipzig. While recuperating with relatives, he took up drawing as a hobby. They maintained a steady correspondence until Goethe"s death in 1832.
After serving in several adjutant positions, he resigned from the Army in 1819 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
Four years later, he met Ludwig Emil Grimm and the idea for an Artists" Colony was born. They focused on genre scenes and landscapes from the Schwalm.
Studies
Having been self-taught up to this point, he began taking private lessons from his friend Grimm. When the climate in Willingshausen aggravated his wound, he moved to Geneva and studied with the Swiss painter Matthias Gabriel Lory (1784-1846), then attended the Kassel Art Academy where he studied under Justus Wilhelm Karl Glinzer and Johann Martin von Rohden.
In 1835, he moved to Düsseldorf and studied with Theodor Hildebrandt at the Art Academy there.
In 1841, he invited his friend Jakob Fürchtegott Dielmann to oversee the Artists" Colony and spent his time moving between Russia, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. After three years of travelling, he settled in Frankfurt where he established a studio at the Villa Metzler.