Franz Krüger

German painter, draughtsman. Born in the family of a German nobleman called Friedrich Krüger in the village of Großbadegast in the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau (1797). Studied under Carl Wilhelm Kolbe in Dessau and at the School of Drawing of the Königliche Akademie der Künste in Berlin (1812–14). Court artist of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and full member of the Königliche Akademie der Künste (1825). Commissioned by the future Tsar Nicholas I to paint Parade in Berlin (1824). Free member of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1831). Frequently visited St Petersburg to paint commissions for the imperial court and Russian aristocrats (1832–51). Nicknamed “Pferde-Krüger” for his talent for painting horses. Died in Berlin and buried at the Friedhof der Dorotheenstädtischen und Friedrichswerderschen Gemeinden (1857).