Meyer, Heinrich

Historian of Roman sculpture and the paintings of Raphael, also painter. Meyer began studying painting in Switzerland under the tutelage of Johann Koella and Johann Caspar Füssli. He traveled to Italy to study Roman sculpture in 1784, where he also dedicated himself to studying the paintings of Raphael. Meyer met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1787, who convinced him to move to Weimar to serve as his artistic advisor. Meyer made copies of Roman art, including the fresco "Aldobrandini Wedding" 1797 and the painting "Odysseus and Nausica" (1789) by Annibale Carraci for Goethe to study in Weimar. As Goethe's artistic advisor, Meyer decorated Goethe's house in a Roman style, and painted portraits of Goethe and his family. He went back to Italy to collect information for a history of Italian art that Goethe wanted to complete. Together, the two men published several books and articles. They founded and edited an art magazine entitled Propyläen in 1798. Meyer's article entitled, "Entwuf einer Kunstgeschichte des achtzehen Jahrhunderts" appeared in Goethe's Wincklemann und sein Jahrhundert in 1805. In 1806, Meyer became the principal of the Freies Zeichen-Institut in Weimar. He wrote a book entitled, "Neudeutsche religios-partiotische Kunst" with Goethe in 1817, which angered German Romantics and ostracized him from their artistic community.