{{short description|German painter}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} [[File:Auszug der ostpreussischen Landwehr ins Feld 1813.jpg|thumb|275px|The East Prussian Landwehr, heading out to fight Napoleon's army after their consecration in church (1861)]] thumb|upright|''Orientalin'' (1887) '''Gustav Graef''' (14 December 1821 – 6 January 1895) was a German painter, primarily of portraits and historical subjects.

== Life and work == Graef was born in Königsberg. In 1842, he entered the University of Königsberg, where he was an enthusiastic member of the Student Corps and produced his first lithographs.<ref>Kösener Korps-Listen, 1910, '''142''', 74</ref> His training as a painter began in Düsseldorf with Theodor Hildebrandt and Wilhelm von Schadow at the Royal Academy. He made several study trips to Antwerp, Paris, Munich and Italy.<ref>Hermann A. Müller: ''Biographisches Künstler-Lexikon'', Bibliographischen Instituts, Leipzig, 1882</ref>

Upon his return to Königsberg, he married a former acquaintance from his drawing class, the painter and lithographer Franziska Liebreich (1824–1893), who came from a prominent Jewish family.<ref>Petra Wilhelmy-Dollinger: ''Die Berliner Salons: Mit historisch-literarischen Spaziergängen'', Walter de Gruyter, 2000 {{ISBN|978-3-11-016414-5}}</ref> One of their sons, Botho, became a noted art historian. Their daughter Sabine married the painter Reinhold Lepsius and became a well-known painter herself.

In 1849, he received the contract to paint frescoes in the south dome hall of the Neues Museum; designed by Wilhelm von Kaulbach, depicting Widukind's reconciliation with Charlemagne. This necessitated a move to Berlin and was followed by a commission to paint four scenes from the Labors of Hercules for the Altes Museum. After 1862, he focused on idealized female portraits, which brought him great commercial success. He became a member of the Prussian Academy of the Arts in 1880.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

At the peak of his fame, in 1885, he was arrested and charged with the abuse of an underage model. This became a major scandal in Berlin society, as the young woman in question was from a notable family that had been very hospitable to Graef. He was eventually acquitted, but not without great damage to all the parties involved.<ref>Annette Dorgerloh: ''Das Künstlerehepaar Lepsius'' – Zur Berliner Porträtmalerei um 1900. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2003, {{ISBN|3-05-003722-9}}]</ref><ref>Paul Lindau: ''Der Prozeß Graef. Drei Berliner Sensationsprozesse sowie zwei andere aufsehenerregende Kriminalfälle des ausgehenden 19. Jahrhunderts.'' Berlin (DDR) 1985</ref> He died in Berlin, aged 73.

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons category-inline|Gustav Graef}} *[http://www.iment.com/maida/family/mother/vicars/gustavgraef.htm Master Paintings of the World] *[http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw02406/Sir-Francis-Galton?LinkID=mp01715&role=sit&rNo=1 National Portrait Gallery ''Sir Francis Galton'' by Gustav Graef]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Graef, Gustav}} Category:19th-century German painters Category:19th-century German male artists Category:German male painters Category:19th-century German printmakers Category:1821 births Category:1895 deaths Category:Artists from Königsberg Category:Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni Category:19th-century painters of historical subjects