SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The German landscape and marine painter Themistokles von Eckenbrecher (1842–1921), associated with late Romanticism, was born in Athens, where his parents were staying at the time. His family returned to Berlin in 1843, then lived in Istanbul from 1850 to 1857 and in Potsdam until 1861. This childhood, marked by several places of residence, preceded training in different cities. He studied with Carl Gustav Wegener from 1859 to 1860, then became a private pupil of Oswald Achenbach in Düsseldorf, where his family settled from 1861 to 1867. He also joined the artists’ group Malkasten.
Married to Johanna Stever in 1875, he travelled almost continuously in Europe and the Middle East. In 1892, his travels took him to the Philippines and to German colonies in Africa. The biographical source reports that he learned eleven languages. The recorded painting titles suggest a range of subjects: a market scene in the courtyard of the New Mosque in Istanbul, a panorama of the Sognefjord, and a gun battle between Askari and local inhabitants. Alongside painting, Eckenbrecher designed postcards for the Deutsches Kolonialhaus and several shipping companies.
This profile brings together identity references for Themistokles von Eckenbrecher and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
2 references are documented at Schuler, Lempertz. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
Oil on canvas
Wildbach in Norwegen
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2021-12-13
Published result : 700 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 700–900
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on canvas
Spitzbergen
Öl auf Leinwand
Auction date : 2018-03-14
Published result : 1612 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 1500
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.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
