Portrait of Godfrey Frankenstein

About this artwork

John Frankenstein painted this portrait of his younger brother Godfrey, while they shared studio space in Ohio. Godfrey Frankenstein was elected president of the Cincinnati Academy of Fine Arts in 1841, and was later known as "The Painter of Niagara Falls" after creating about a hundred paintings of the national treasure. Here, John portrayed his brother surrounded by plaster casts of classical sculpture and numerous thick books, the largest of which is labeled "Schiller," probably referring to ...

Art Historical Context

In the early 1840s, American artist John Frankenstein captured a tender moment of fraternal camaraderie in *Portrait of Godfrey Frankenstein*, while the brothers shared a in Ohio. This intimate oil painting depicts John's younger Godfrey, dressed in a coat and tie, deeply engrossed in his own watercolor work. Surrounding him are symbols of artistic devotion: plaster casts of classical, stacks of thick books—including one boldly labeled "Schiller" after the renowned German poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller—and a partially completed canvas behind him, possibly John's own unlocated works *A...