Franz Ludwig Catel

Nationality: German

1778 - 1856

Catel’s formal artistic education began at the Berlin Academy (1794–1797) and continued in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts (1798–1800). He arrived in Rome in 1811 and joined the community of German artists working there, befriending Joseph Anton Koch and the Nazarenes, as well as Johann Christian Clausen Dahl, whom he met in 1820–1821. Having amassed a considerable fortune as a professional painter, he established the Pio Istituto Catel to support Italian and German artists. That institute still owns Catel’s house in the Piazza di Spagna, which remains open to this day.

Place of Birth: Berlin
Place of Death:

Text written and researched by Michelle Bird National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.