Lot 244 Dα

Born in Dresden in 1831, Robert Cauer the Elder came from a family of artists and studied at the Düsseldorf Art Academy as of 1851 under Wilhelm von Schadow and Carl Ferdinand Sohn. During this time he may have made the acquaintance of the former academy director Peter von Cornelius (1783 - 1867), who also spent a long time in Rome and, as one of the main representatives of the Nazarenes and a member of the Lukasbund, made Roman Renaissance painting the standard for his own creations. Although Peter von Cornelius had long since died in 1880, his work seems to have had a lasting influence on the sculptor and the patron of this portrait. Even as a young artist, Robert Cauer the Elder was fascinated by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and the romantic ideals to which Peter von Cornelius was also committed.