SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Johann Conrad Seekatz was a history painter, genre painter and portraitist. Genre scenes came to occupy an increasingly prominent place in his work, alongside biblical and mythological subjects, animal scenes and a number of portraits. His rural scenes, often set in landscapes or village views, sometimes feature children. Born in 1719 in Grünstadt and died in 1768 in Darmstadt, he grew up in a family of painters: his father, Johann Martin, and his elder brother, Johann Ludwig, worked in the same profession. After his father’s death, he became an apprentice to his brother, then studied from 1748 with Philipp Hieronymus Brinckmann, court painter in Mannheim. In 1747, he made eleven gallery paintings for the Bergkirche in Osthofen, based on biblical illustrations by Matthäus Merian.
Probably in April 1753, Seekatz took up a post as court painter to Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt, with an annual salary of 200 florins. The lack of commissions in Darmstadt led him to turn to Frankfurt, where he sold his easel paintings, generally small in format, on the art market and to private collectors. Among his patrons was Count de Thoranc, who commissioned Frankfurt painters to carry out decorative work for his residence in Grasse. Emmerling’s catalogue of works, cited in the biographical entry, lists 96 paintings made for the count, recorded notably in Grasse and at the Goethe Museum in Frankfurt. Johann Caspar Goethe’s «Liber Domestikus» records the acquisition of 17 paintings by Seekatz. From 1765, the artist also made 17 overdoor paintings for Braunshardt Castle, the residence of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt. Emmerling’s catalogue lists 269 individual paintings. Major groups of works are held at the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, in several Frankfurt museums, including the Städel, and at the Anhalt Picture Gallery in Dessau.
This profile brings together identity references for Johann Conrad Seekatz and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Dobiaschofsky · Schuler
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil on hardboard
Le marchand de village.
Öl auf Htf
Date to be documented
Published result : 6500 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 6500
View the lot at the auction house ↗These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Oil on wood
Attribué à Seekatz, Johann Conrad — zugeschrieben Gegenstücke: Judaskuss / Christus vor Kaiphas
Öl auf Holz
zugeschrieben
Catalogue period : 2021-03-26
Attributed
Published result : 2200 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1600–2800
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on wood
Attribué à Seekatz, Johann Conrad — zugeschrieben Gegenstücke: Lot und seine Töchter / Der Engel erscheint Hagar und Ismael in der Wüste
Öl auf Holz
zugeschrieben
Catalogue period : 2020-03-27
Attributed
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : CHF 3000–4000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on wood
Attribué à Seekatz, Johann Conrad — zugeschrieben Gegenstücke: Lot und seine Töchter / Der Engel erscheint Hagar und Ismael in der Wüste
Öl auf Holz
zugeschrieben
Catalogue period : 2019-12-13
Attributed
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
Estimate : CHF 5000–8000
View the lot at the auction house ↗Oil on hardboard
Le chanteur en foire.
Öl auf Htf
Gemälde mit dazugehörigem Kupferstich
Date to be documented
painting accompanied by the related engraving
Published result : 8500 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 6500
View the lot at the auction house ↗Oil on hardboard
Attribué à JOHANN CONRAD SEEKATZ — Nächtliches Interieur mit Lesenden und alter Magd.
Öl auf Htf
Zugeschrieben
Date to be documented
Attributed
Published result : 1800 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 2400
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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