David von Krafft

Who was David von Krafft?

David Krafft, from 1719 David von Krafft was a German-Swedish painter, the nephew and student of David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl and his successor as painter to the Swedish Royal Court.

Krafft was born in Hamburg. His parents' names are not known, but his mother was a sister of the Swedish court painter David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. David Klöcker had been born in Hamburg and settled in Sweden in the 1650s, where he was successful as a painter primarily of portraits of members of the royal house and the aristocracy. He was ennobled in 1674, receiving the name Ehrenstrahl. Krafft became an orphan at an early age and came to his uncle's studio in Stockholm in 1675 as his assistant and apprentice.

In 1684 Krafft received an annual grant from Queen Ulrika Eleonora the Elder for a journey to Italy through Denmark and Germany. The purpose was first to visit the various princely courts to paint the Queen's relatives to supplement her portrait collection, and later to continue to Italy for further studies. He arrived in Italy in 1687, spent a year in Venice, three years in Rome, and one year in Bologna. He later traveled to Vienna, and was awarded an increased grant for going to Paris in 1694.