Wilhelm Trautschold was a German painter active internationally in the mid-19th century, best known during his lifetime as a portrait painter of considerable reputation. Born in Berlin in 1815, he trained at the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin and later at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, where he studied under Karl Ferdinand Sohn and Wilhelm Schadow. From the 1840s onward, he built a substantial career painting portraits, genre scenes, animals, and landscapes, working across Germany, Italy, and England. His work was recognised by major institutions, including the V&A Museum, and is now held in public collections such as the National Portrait Gallery, London. Contemporary accounts describe him as both professionally esteemed and personally admired.

Known For

Trautschold was best known as a portrait painter, particularly of academics, scientists, clergy, and professional figures. He also produced landscapes, genre scenes, animal paintings, and lithographs, with landscape painting becoming more prominent in the later stages of his career.

Student Of

Trautschold studied at the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin and at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf (1833-1836), where his teachers included Karl Ferdinand Sohn and Wilhelm Schadow.

Lived In

Trautschold lived and worked in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Giessen, Liverpool, London, Rome, Florence, and Munich. From 1860, he was permanently based in London, residing in Fitzroy Square, while continuing to travel to Germany and Italy.

Historical Context

Trautschold belonged to a generation of German artists shaped by academic training and Romantic naturalism, working at a time when portraiture played a central role in recording intellectual and professional life. He moved comfortably between artistic circles, universities, and scientific communities, reflecting the close relationship between art and learning in the mid-19th century. His career coincided with the expansion of print culture, and several of his major portrait works were lithographed for wider circulation.

Public Collections

Works by Wilhelm Trautschold are held in public collections, including the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Royal Society of Chemistry; the Liebig Museum, Giessen; and other German and British institutional collections. One of his portraits of the chemist Justus von Liebig was used as the model for the German 100 Reichsmark banknote issued in 1935.

Timeline

1815

Born in Berlin.

1833-1836

Studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Sohn and Schadow.

C.1840

Painted early portraits of Justus von Liebig in Giessen.

1843-1846

Appointed drawing instructor at the University of Giessen.

1846

First travelled to England.

1847-1850

Worked and exhibited in Liverpool as a portrait painter.

1850

Married Sophia Johnston in Everton, near Liverpool.

1851

Travelled in Italy (Rome and Florence).

1860

Settled permanently in London.

1866

Landscape ‘A Scene in the Black Forest’ exhibited at the Royal Academy and purchased by the South Kensington Museum.

1875

Exhibited drawings of New Forest scenery in London.

1877

Died in Munich while travelling for health reasons.

Described By Others

Contemporary obituaries and press accounts describe Trautschold as a painter of high professional standing, particularly admired for his portraiture. He was commemorated with memorial exhibitions in Germany and Britain, and remembered as a respected colleague and friend, noted for the dignity with which he endured prolonged illness in later life.