Waldmüller, Ferdinand Georg

Waldmüller, Ferdinand Georg (b Vienna, 15 Jan. 1793; d Helmstreitmühle, nr. Baden, 23 Aug. 1865).
One of the leading Austrian painters of the Biedermeier period. He painted portraits, genre subjects, and still-life, but is perhaps best known for his landscapes, which in their loving attention to detail illustrate his belief that the close study of nature should be the basis of painting. In 1829 he became professor of painting at the Vienna Academy, but he had a stormy relationship with it because his views were at odds with its traditional teaching methods; he wrote several treatises urging academic reform.