Mengs, Anton Raphael

(born March 22, 1728, Aussig, Bohemia—died June 29, 1779, Rome, Papal States) German painter. After study in Dresden and Rome, he became painter to the Saxon court in Dresden in 1745. Back in Rome in the late 1740s and again in the early 1750s, he developed an enthusiasm for Classical antiquity. His fresco Parnassus (1760–61) at the Villa Albani helped establish the ascendancy of Neoclassical painting. He also worked extensively for the Spanish court in Madrid. He was regarded as Europe's greatest living painter in his day, but his reputation has since declined.

Find more information on Mengs, Anton Raphael. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on Mengs, Anton Raphael.