Friedrich Mosbrugger

Friedrich Mosbrugger, also known as Fritz Moosbrugger (19 September 1804, in Konstanz – 17 October 1830, in Saint Petersburg) was a German portrait and genre painter in the Realistic style. He came from a family that had a widespread reputation as builders, plasterers and painters. His brother Joseph was also a painter, and his brother was an architect.

Life

His father was Wendelin Moosbrugger, a Court Painter for Frederick I of Württemberg. He received his first lessons from his father and another painter from Konstanz, Marie Ellenrieder, He returned to Germany in 1829 and staged an exhibition of his Italian works in 1830.

With a letter of recommendation to Tsar Nicholas I from William I of Württemberg, he embarked on a trip to Russia. He took passage on a merchant vessel at Lübeck, as land travel through Russia would have been difficult and circuitous at that time. The ship made frequent stops, so the voyage took three weeks, during which time he was almost constantly seasick. He remained sick upon his arrival and languished for a week without care, until he was visited by an old friend, Paul Emil Jacobs. It was too late, however, and he died, aged only twenty-six.