August Theodor Schoefft
Date of Birth
1809
Date of Death
1888
Place of Birth
Place of Death
Biography
As the son of a renowned local portrait painter Schoefft was raised in an artistic milieu in Pest, Hungary. He was an artist with an inquisitive mind and a strong taste for the observation and recording of the exotic. He travelled from an early age and crossed several continents in his search for foreign cultures. For Schoefft his paintings conveyed the fascinating imagery of things so far removed from the everyday life of his European contemporaries.
The artist managed to finance his explorations by securing the commission of several prestigious portraits, most famously that of the greatest Statesmen of Hungarian history, Count Istvn Szchenyi. In 1835, he travelled to India via Turkey and made a series of sketches and illustrated notes which were made up into larger oil compositions on his return to Europe.
Schoefft arrived in India at the age of 29. During his time in India, he worked in Lahore at the court of Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the 'Lion of the Punjab' and celebrated Sikh ruler and where in 1841 he painted his best known work, The Court at Lahore. This monumental picture, in which over a hundred portraits are depicted, received critical acclaim when it was exhibited at the Vienna Salon in 1855. The ruler's son, Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838-1893), famously adopted by Queen Victoria, hung it at his English home, Elvedon Hall in Suffolk, before it was returned to Lahore where it is now displayed alongside the collection of his daughter, Princess Bamba.
While travelling around India, Schoefft collected treasures of art of the Orient. He travelled to Venice via Egypt. He visited most European countries. He spent a longer time in London, where he exhibited his works together with his collection, for which he sacrificed a part of his wealth, and which he was finally obliged to sell in 1863. The majority of his pictures are in the possession of collections abroad. His self-portrait is in the Historical Portrait Gallery. He died in 1888 in London mad and in great poverty.
Also known as: Schoefft, Ágoston; Ágoston Schoefft; Schoefft, Agoston; Schoefft, Agoston Theodor; Schoefft, August; Schoeft, August Theodor.
References:
Artists from afar: company painters in the princely courts of India 1770-1900., Greig, Charles, The Free Library by Fairlex, http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Artists+from+afar%3A+company+painters+in+the+princely+courts+of+India...-a0182035427, accessed 15 June 2010
SCHOEFFT, August, Fine Arts in Hungary, http://www.hung-art.hu/frames-e.html?/english/s/schoefft/index.html, accessed 15 June 2010
AUGUST THEODOR SCHOEFFT (HUNGARIAN, 1809-1888), Chrisite’s, http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5234717&sid=f01a972b-542c-42a8-aed8-d9d54dfb09b0, accessed 26 June 2010
The artist managed to finance his explorations by securing the commission of several prestigious portraits, most famously that of the greatest Statesmen of Hungarian history, Count Istvn Szchenyi. In 1835, he travelled to India via Turkey and made a series of sketches and illustrated notes which were made up into larger oil compositions on his return to Europe.
Schoefft arrived in India at the age of 29. During his time in India, he worked in Lahore at the court of Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the 'Lion of the Punjab' and celebrated Sikh ruler and where in 1841 he painted his best known work, The Court at Lahore. This monumental picture, in which over a hundred portraits are depicted, received critical acclaim when it was exhibited at the Vienna Salon in 1855. The ruler's son, Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838-1893), famously adopted by Queen Victoria, hung it at his English home, Elvedon Hall in Suffolk, before it was returned to Lahore where it is now displayed alongside the collection of his daughter, Princess Bamba.
While travelling around India, Schoefft collected treasures of art of the Orient. He travelled to Venice via Egypt. He visited most European countries. He spent a longer time in London, where he exhibited his works together with his collection, for which he sacrificed a part of his wealth, and which he was finally obliged to sell in 1863. The majority of his pictures are in the possession of collections abroad. His self-portrait is in the Historical Portrait Gallery. He died in 1888 in London mad and in great poverty.
Also known as: Schoefft, Ágoston; Ágoston Schoefft; Schoefft, Agoston; Schoefft, Agoston Theodor; Schoefft, August; Schoeft, August Theodor.
References:
Artists from afar: company painters in the princely courts of India 1770-1900., Greig, Charles, The Free Library by Fairlex, http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Artists+from+afar%3A+company+painters+in+the+princely+courts+of+India...-a0182035427, accessed 15 June 2010
SCHOEFFT, August, Fine Arts in Hungary, http://www.hung-art.hu/frames-e.html?/english/s/schoefft/index.html, accessed 15 June 2010
AUGUST THEODOR SCHOEFFT (HUNGARIAN, 1809-1888), Chrisite’s, http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5234717&sid=f01a972b-542c-42a8-aed8-d9d54dfb09b0, accessed 26 June 2010
