Samuel Friedrich Diez

Samuel Friedrich Diez ( 19 December 1803 – 11 March 1873) was a German portraitist and court official. He served as court painter to Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. An influential artist in royal courts across Europe, he was made Honorary Designer of His Majesty The King of the Belgians by Leopold I of Belgium. Diez also served in a political role at court, and was appointed as a Privy Councillor by Heinrich LXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line.

Biography Diez was born on 19 December 1803 in Neuhaus am Rennweg, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen to a patrician family. His father, Jakob Diez, was a bailiff in Neuhaus. Diez was the uncle of the sculptor Robert Diez. He was educated at Casimirianum Coburg in Coburg, Bavaria. In 1824 he enrolled as a student at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied painting and portraiture. In 1833 he was officially appointed as court painter.

Diex created the Marienbild in der Haßfurtschlucht, a Catholic pilgrimage site and shrine in 1867.

Some of his notable works include portraits of Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Christian Daniel Rauch, Leopold I of Belgium, and Ludwig Bechstein.

Diez died from complications related to a heart condition on 11 March 1873.