Karl Meyerheim’s (1780–1841) portraits of his parents and other works. A contribution to the history of the Meyerheim family

Abstract

This article presents Karl Friedrich Meyerheim (1780–1841), portrait painter from Gdańsk, director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and founder of the artistic dynasty. The work of this artist received little attention to date; this contribution summarises Meyerheim’s oeuvre covering surviving artworks as well as those once in private collections now known only from exhibition catalogues. Special attention is given to two images from the collection of the National Museum in Gdańsk. This encompasses two portraits by Karl Friedrich Meyerheim, likenesses of the artist’s mother and father. They are presented in domes‑ tic dress, the father in a dressing gown, and the mother in a bonnet tied with a bow, a patterned dress covered with a shawl, and wearing amber beads. The amber necklace around the mother’s neck is evidence that owning jewellery and objects made of this material was still popular in 19th‑century Gdańsk.