ischer Johann Georg Paul
(Hanover 1786 - London 1875)
The Grand Duke Constantine’s Regiment of Cuirassiers of the Imperial Russian Army in 1806
Biography
Fischer was son of an engraver and pupil of Heinrich Ramberg, and came to England in 1810. He worked as court painter and restorer to the Duke of Bavaria, and 'modernised' old master works, such as those by Albrecht Dürer, to be more in keeping with the then acceptable idiom. Of note is the Paumgartner family altarpiece (now in the Alte Pinakithek, Munich) where Fischer reworked the side panel which was painted by Albrecht Dürer between 1498 and 1504. Rather than just restoring the work, he obliterated the saint’s attributes, substituting a horse and landscape for the dark ground that Durer had painted. He then added a helmet on the knight’s cap, which was Fischer making use of other Dürer motives.
Johann was the son of an engraver and originally a pupil of German portraitist Heinrich Ramberg, to whom he apprenticed and assisted in his portrait work. Coming to England in about 1810, he worked mainly in London and executed portraits of the English aristocracy and nobles, including Queen Victoria and Queen Charlotte. He is now best known now for his portrait miniatures.
Collections
Fischer is represented in the National Portrait Gallery, London, amongst other collections.