1609 -1684 · Biberach, Rome, Naples and Augsburg

Ruins, heroes, saints and moving crowds make Johann Heinrich Schönfeld a great conduit from Italian Baroque to 17th century Germany.

Johann Heinrich Schönfeld was born in Biberach an der Riss in 1609 into a family of goldsmiths. Blind in his left eye and unable to use his right hand normally, he turned to painting and worked with his left hand. He trained with Caspar Sichelbein in Memmingen, then passed through Stuttgart and Basel. In 1633, the Thirty Years' War took him to Italy. In Rome, he discovered ancient architecture, Nordic painters established in the city, Nicolas Poussin and large baroque compositions. In 1633, the Thirty Years' War took him to Italy. In Rome, he discovered ancient architecture, Nordic painters established in the city, Nicolas Poussin and large baroque compositions. In 1633, the Thirty Years' War took him to Italy. In Rome, he discovered ancient architecture, Nordic painters established in the city, Nicolas Poussin and large baroque compositions. In 1633, the Thirty Years' War took him to Italy. In Rome, he discovered ancient architecture, Nordic painters established in the city, Nicolas Poussin and large baroque compositions. In 1633, the Thirty Years' War took him to Italy. In Rome, he discovered ancient architecture, Nordic figures in vast spaces: ruin, square, landscape or interior become the scene of a biblical, ancient or contemporary history. Hannibal swearing eternal hatred to the Romans organizes the oath through gestures and looks. Aeneas saving Anchises from Troy in flames transforms the flight into a heroic diagonal. In Flood, the catastrophe can be read through a multitude of human reactions. Returning to Swabia in 1651, Schoenfeld settled in Augsburg the following year. He responded to orders from churches and collectors, and settled in Augsburg the following year. Returning to Swabia in 1651, Schönfeld settled in Augsburg the following year. He responded to orders from churches and collectors, painting monumental altarpieces while pursuing mythological and historical subjects. Died in Augsburg in 1684, he left a work where experience italian, narrative imagination and moving light announce certain refinements of German rococo. The selection "Johann Heinrich Schönfeld" notably compares Hannibal swears eternal hatred to the Romans and Flood. His reading favors composition.

Schönfeld gives space to the story: the figures pass through ruins, smoke and lightening as if the entire story took place in a moving atmosphere.