Collection: Carl Friedrich Lessing

Carl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880) was a German historical and landscape painter, a grandnephew of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Born in Breslau, he began his studies in Berlin before continuing in Düsseldorf from 1826. Lessing became a significant exponent of the Düsseldorf school of painting and a practitioner of Romantic art.

Lessing's oeuvre encompassed both historical narratives and landscapes, often imbued with a late Romantic sensibility. He was a founder of the Landschaftlichen Componirvereins and later served as director of the Großherzoglichen Gemädegalerie in Karlsruhe from 1858. His works include "Einsiedler (Väter des Todes) bepflanzen eine öde Gegend" (1841) and "Churchyard with Snow" (c. 1835).

King Friedrich Wilhelm IV bestowed the title of professor upon Lessing. Within the Düsseldorf School, he contributed to establishing a realistic approach in both landscape and historical painting.