Anton Dietrich

Who was Anton Dietrich?

Anton Dietrich was a German painter.

At 14, Dietrich came to the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, where he was student of sculptors, including Ernst Julius Hähnel. Despite the political unrest, in 1848 Dietrich made his debut at an exhibition of the Academy with a picture.

That same year he became a student of the painter Eduard Bendemann. Dietrich moved after a short time together with Leonhard Gey in the studio of Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. In spite of positive reviews, Dietrich was unable to make a living as a freelance artist, so he supported himself by working as an illustrator for various publishers and art dealers.

Dietrich learned fresco techniques from Karl von Binzer and settled down in Weimar. There Dietrich discovered wall painting, which was henceforth to be a focus in his art. A short time later Dietrich became a master student of Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld in Dresden. One of his first great works was Rudolf von Habsburg on the corpse Ottokar of Bohemia which was premiered at an exhibition and which earned him an academic travel grant.

Through this generous financial support Dietrich was allowed formative years in Düsseldorf in 1859/60.