Franz Xaver Steininger

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Pupil of his father Jacob Steininger. Grandson of N. Dopfer and nephew of Martin Diehl. The family left Mainz in 1792 as a result of the revolutionary wars, staying briefly in Frankfurt and then settling in Aschaffenburg with the court of the Frederick, Elector of Saxony. Joined in the family workshop there by his cousin ...Read More href="/cozio-archive/browse-the-archive/makers/maker/?Maker_ID=5550">Nicolaus Diehl, after the death of his father Martin in the siege of Mainz. Franz went on to work with M. Frank in Linz and also in Vienna. Appointed `hofgeigenmeister' in Darmstadt c. 1801, but found insufficient business there and moved to Frankfurt. By 1803 he was granted citizenship there. However by 1806 the situation had deteriorated and the wars drove him to St Petersburg, possibly by way of brief stays in Paris, London, Berlin, and Warsaw. In St Petersburg he was joined by his brother Johann Martin Steininger, but returned to Frankfurt 1818 where he remained until 1835. In 1827 and 1828 he was again in Paris, working with J. Thibout, returning to Frankfurt and moving once again to St Petersburg c. 1837. His work generally follows good classical Cremonese models. Heads are characteristically slightly cramped with shallow undercuts, deep throat, and flattened chin. Accurately made and well-finished. Decent materials and generally golden-yellow varnish. Work done in Paris has a thoroughly French character and would easily be taken for high-quality commercial work of that place and period. Manuscript labels:. Read Less

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