William Velten (Russian, 1847-1929)

Oil on panel, signed and located: “Munchen”.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia on June 21, Velten “adopted” Germany as his homeland at the age of 23.

He studied for two years at the Academy of St. Petersburg from 1867-1869 before emigrating to Germany. Upon his arrival in Germany, he studied for an additional year at the Academy of Munich under the tutelage of the renown W. Diez.

Having completed his studies, Velten settled in Munich were he became well known for his paintings of the camp life of soldiers of the 17th and 18h centuries. He died in Munich at the age of 82.

Velten is listed in Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zu Gegenwart by Thieme/Becker and Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs by Bénézit.