Alexander Maximilian Seitz
1811–1888 · German Nazarene painter
Alexander Maximilian Seitz (Munich, 1811 – 1888) was a German painter associated with the Nazarene movement, an early nineteenth-century Romantic current that sought to revive spirituality in art. He matters mainly as a close follower of Friedrich Overbeck and for his religious works on biblical and devotional subjects.
He studied under Peter von Cornelius, also a Nazarene. His first pictures, Joseph Sold by His Brethren and the Seven Sleepers, were quickly recognised. Heinrich Maria von Hess commissioned him for frescoes in the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche in Munich, and after he had painted four sacrament compositions, Cornelius took him to Rome, where he found in Overbeck a man of similar religious views and adopted his style.
He assisted Overbeck with frescoes of the Evangelists and Apostles at Castel Gandolfo. Later, when Overbeck could no longer manage the work, Seitz, helped by his son Ludwig, painted frescoes in the cathedral at Đakovo in Croatia, following designs partly by Overbeck and partly his own. His notable works include the Ecce Homo of 1849, a Resurrection triptych of 1853 and the Mater Dolens of 1858. His biblical scenes, such as the Adoration of the Shepherds and Christ as the Friend of Children, follow Overbeck's spirit. His legacy lies in spreading the Nazarene style in Germany, Rome and Croatia.