Objekt 2
Portraits of Peter Burckhardt (1742-1817) and his wife Anna Burckhardt-Forcart (1742-1808)
Description
When the Basel merchant Peter Burckhardt and Anna Forcart married in 1761, the newlyweds had their portrait painted by Johann Nikolaus Groth. The carved quiver and arrow arrangements on the gilded rococo frame, which allude to Cupid, the god of love, also indicate that the portrait was painted in the year of their marriage, 1761. The prosperity of the young couple is also expressed in the choice of the recognized portrait painter: Johann Nikolaus Groth had worked in Munich as a portrait painter for the electoral family and later received numerous commissions from well-known Basel citizens. Both sitters came from prestigious Basel families whose members held high offices. Peter Burckhardt took over his father's company at the age of 19 and was elected to the Basel Grand Council at the age of 30. He made further political contacts when he married the daughter of Dietrich Forcart, a Basel councillor and city clerk. He served as mayor from 1790 to 1798 and from 1811 to 1815 and was a member of the Basel National Assembly in 1798 during the Helvetic era. Like the builder of the Haus zum Kirschgarten, he was a Freemason.
Object description
Painter: Johann Nikolaus Grooth (1723-1797)
Basel, 1761
Oil paintings in original frame
Bequest Gustav Burckhardt-von Speyr
Inv. 1935.166.-167.