Veit, Philipp

PAINTER (PRUSSIA)
BORN 13 Feb 1793, Berlin - DIED 18 Dec 1877, Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz
BIRTH NAME Veit, Feibisch
GRAVE LOCATION Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz: Hauptfriedhof

Son of the banker Simon Veit and of Brendal Mendelssohn, the oldest daughter of Moses Mendelssohn who was later known as Dorothea von Schlegel. His parents divorced in 1799 and his mother married Friedrich von Schlegel in 1804. He lived with his mother and his stepfather in Jena, Paris and Cologne before they settled in Berlin where he finished school. He studied paiting at the Art Academy in Dresden where Friedrich Matthäi was one of his teachers.

He took part in the liberation wars against France and during this time he befriended Joseph von Eichendorf and Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. In 1815 he went to Rome where he joined the Nazarene movement and participated in painting frescoes at the Casa Bartholdy and the Villa Massimi. For the cathedral in Naumburg he created a painting of Christ in 1820. On 25 August In 1820 he married Carolina Pulini, who was only thirteen years old at the time.

In 1830 he moved to Frankfurt am Main to become the director of the art collections at the Städels. He resigned from this position in 1843 after the Städel bought the painting by Carl Friedrich Lessing that showed Jan Hus in Konstanz. As a devout Catholic he was offended by this painting.

He moved his studio to Sachsenhausen and in 1848 he painted a huge Germania for the Paulskirche in Frankfurt am Main (now at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg). In 1853 he settled in Mainz where he became the director of the art collection and created a series of paintings for the cathedral of Mainz. He lived there until his death in 1877. Carolina died in 1890 and both were buried at the Hauptfriedhof in Mainz.

Family
• Mother: Schlegel, Dorothea von

Related persons
• has a connection with Ballenberger, Georg Karl
• cooperated with Cornelius, Peter von
• was a friend of Motte-Fouqué, Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de la
• knew Schadow-Godenhaus, Wilhelm Friedrich von
• has a connection with Schlegel, Friedrich von
• was a friend of Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Julius, Ritter
• corresponded with Seidler, Louise
• was drawn by Vogel von Vogelstein, Carl Christian

Events
17/12/1798Dorothea Veit leaves the house of her husband Simon Veit in Berlin. She moved into an apartment on the Ziegelstrasse and she took her son Philipp with her. She divorced Simon Veit on 11 January 1799. [Schlegel, Dorothea von]

Images

The grave of Philipp Veit at the Hauptfriedhof, Mainz.
Picture by Androom (28 Apr 2013)

 

Sources
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909
Philipp Veit – Wikipedia
Chronology – Caroline Schelling


Veith, Eduard

Published: 24 Jan 2016
Last update: 14 Aug 2023