Franz Defregger

Franz Defregger studied at Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Training under Hermann Dyck and Hermann Anschütz is recorded. Lovis Corinth and Franz Mohr are recorded as having studied under Franz Defregger. The recorded working language is German. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are history and genre. Places of work recorded in the authority are Munich. Employment is recorded with Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Work by Franz Defregger is recorded in the collections of Belvedere, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Nationalmuseum, Kunsthistorisches Museum and Bavarian State Painting Collections. Distinctions recorded are honorary citizen of Munich, Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order, Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art and Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown.

• Name — Franz von Defregger • Born — 30 April 1835 • Birthplace — Stronach, Tyrol, Austrian Empire • Died — 2 January 1921 • Place of death — Munich, Germany • Resting Place — Nordfriedhof, Munich • Education — Academy of Fine Arts, Munich • Known for — Painting, drawing • Style — Genre art, history paintings • Movement — Munich School • Spouse — Anna Müller

Franz Defregger was born on 30 April 1835 at the Ederhof in Stronach, Tyrol in the Austrian Empire. He was the second son of Maria (née Fercher) and Michael Defregger, a farmer, who also had five daughters. His mother and two of his sisters died in 1841 during a typhoid epidemic. Franz himself nearly died from the fever. During his early years, Franz developed a strong love of music, and learned to play the flugelhorn. He soon became a member of a local band in Dölsach, playing at weddings, assemblies, and balls. Franz also displayed an early talent for drawing and woodcarving, which he developed autodidactically while working on his father's farm. After his father died in 1858, Franz took over the farm at the age of twenty-three. Within two years, however, he sold the farm and shared the money with his sisters who wanted to emigrate to America. Defregger moved to Innsbruck and studied woodcarving with the sculptor Michael Stolz, a professor at the Innsbrucker Trade School. Stoltz soon recognized Defregger's greater talent as a painter, and in the autumn of 1860, he arranged a meeting with Karl von Piloty at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. At Piloty's suggestion, Defregger attended a preparatory class at the Academy with Hermann Dyck. On 19 July 1861, Defregger passed the entrance examination and was accepted into the Academy. In the autumn of that year, he enrolled in a painting class given by Hermann Anschutz. In the summer of 1863, with the encouragement of architect Dominik Stadler, Defregger travelled to Paris to enhance his studies at the academy. He enrolled at the École des beaux-arts on the recommendation of Alexander Laemlein. In 1864, he took part in the Salon des Refusés; the Salon catalog from 1864 listed him as "élève de l'École des Beaux-Arts". During his time in Paris, Defregger's work was influenced by his experiences in the city and through autodidactic study at museums, art collections, and studios. After spending two years in Paris, Defregger returned to Munich in July 1865 and began studying under Piloty at the academy. During the next few years, Defregger also spent time in East Tyrol, painting portraits of his relatives and friends. Between 1867 and 1870, he worked with Hans Makart and Gabriel of Max in the studio of the Munich history painter Piloty. His paintings were popular, and he soon became successful as an artist. He was professor of history painting from 1878 to 1910 at the Munich Art Academy. He preferred portraits, rustic motifs from the everyday life, and dramatic scenes from the Tyrolean national uprising of 1809. In 1883, Defregger was given the Order of Merit of the Bavarian crown, and was made a Knight of the collected personal nobility. He received numerous prizes and awards, including the Prussian Order of Merit for Science and the Arts. In 1906, his work was displayed at the Century of German Art exhibition in Berlin. His students included the Gröden artists Josef Moroder Lusenberg and Hans Perathoner, Lovis Corinth, Robert Koehler, Walter Thor, Hugo Engl, Emma von Müller and many others. Defregger also worked alongside other artists in the studio, especially Rudolf Epp, developing a style consistent with the Munich school. Franz Defregger died in Munich in 1921 at the age of 85. He was buried at Nordfriedhof in Munich.

• Illustration — Das letzte Aufgebot, 1872 • Illustration — Grace Before Meal, 1875 • Illustration — Der Zitherspieler, 1876 • Illustration — Heimkehrender Tiroler Landsturm im Krieg von 1809, 1876 • Illustration — Andreas Hofer mit seinen Beratern in der Hofburg in Innsbruck, 1879 • Illustration — Beauty of the Tyrol, 1880 • Illustration — D'Zilli, 1882 • Illustration — Bildnis eines jungen Bauernmädchens, 1885 • Illustration — Bauerndirndl, 1890 • Illustration — Alter Jäger mit Flinte im Hochgebirge, 1892 • Illustration — Zitherspielendes Mädchen, 1894 • Illustration — Tiroler Dirndl, c. 1895 • Illustration — Bauerndirndl, 1896 • Illustration — Portrait eines jungen Tirolers, 1897 • Illustration — Victory of Andreas Hofer at Bergisel, 1809, 1900 • Illustration — Bauernporträt, 1900 • Illustration — Der kranke Dackel, 1903 • Illustration — Schwer erkrankt, 1905 • Illustration — Portrait of Franz von Lenbach, 1907 • Illustration — Junger Bauer, 1910 • Illustration — Tiroler Bauer mit Pfeife • Illustration — Bauernbursch mit Hut • Illustration — Dirndl • Illustration — Farewell to the Hunters

The authorities additionally record the headings Franz Jacob von Defregger, Franz Von Defregger, Fr.