Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen

1813 Bremen
1886 Berlin


Johann Georg Meyer, called Meyer von Bremen, was born in Bremen in 1813. The baker‘s son grew up in a strictly religious family. Meyer von Bremen gave up his own earlier wish to become a missionary for his big love for art. After first attempts in drawing he began to study art at the academy in Düsseldorf in 1833. Meyer von Bremen attended the painting classes of Wilhelm von Schadow and Carl Sohn. In 1841 he opened his own studio as a portrait painter.
Early works by Meyer von Bremen are still characterized by his teachers‘ academic conceptions and his own deeply felt religiousness. In later works Meyer von Bremen shows his turn to a livelier genre painting as it was typical of Düsseldorf at around the middle of the 19th century. He became one of its main representatives. On his journeys to Hesse, Bavaria and the Swiss mountains, Meyer von Bremen found motifs in the everyday life of countryfolk. Just as it is the case with works by his fellow painters Friedrich Eduard Meyerheim and Adrian Ludwig Richter, the depiction of a peaceful children's world and intact family life count among his main motifs, contributing to a constantly improving reputation and earning him more and more commissions.
In 1851 Meyer von Bremen married the singer Julia Beer. In 1852 they relocated from Düsseldorf to Berlin, where Meyer von Bremen also opened a studio. After initial difficulties and a lack of commissions, his renown in Berlin soon grew and art traders and collectors honored Meyer von Bremen‘s works with increasing prices.
Meyer von Bremen received many awards and honors. In 1857 he became member of the Academy of Arts in Amsterdam, later he was appointed professor. Even during his lifetime his paintings were widely spread through scores of reproductions in form of lithographs, engravings and photographs. Many owners of his art can be found in North America, where his works are in great demand up until today. Johann Georg Meyer died in Berlin in 1886.