Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller was born on January 15, 1793. He was an Austrian painter and writer.
Waldmüller worked for a time teaching art to children, and after marrying a singer he went on tour with her to be a set designer. To improve his own painting skills, he copied the work of the masters, but he firmly believed that it is the study of nature which best lends to the development of artistic skills. Note in the featured painting how brilliant are the colors and shadows he uses in the masterful representation of creation. It was painting the greatest masterpiece of all which best led to his own greatness as an artist.
He taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna for a time, though his views about painting from nature were not shared there and he was forced to retire early. He was later knighted.
Below are shown his self portrait, The Love Letter,
and Venetian Fruit Seller.
