Theodor Horschelt

Theodor Horschelt (Munich, 1829 – Munich, 1871) was a German painter who specialised in scenes from the Caucasian Wars. His interest in military subjects took him to distant regions, where he observed landscapes, peoples and combat at first hand before transferring them to canvas.

The son of ballet master Friedrich Horschelt, he had an older brother, Friedrich, who was also a portrait painter. Theodor entered the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1846 and studied under the history painter Joseph Anton Rhomberg, but left after a short time and taught himself to draw. Later he took direction from Professor Hermann Anschütz, who taught him precision and clarity of outline. In 1853 he travelled to Paris and Spain, and after parting from his companions he rode alone to Algiers. Back in Munich he painted several Arabian-themed canvases for King William, which made it possible for him to fund the long-planned journey to the Caucasus.

He reached the region in 1858 and joined an expedition against the Lezghians. The following year he took part in a military campaign in Chechnya and an attack on the headquarters of Imam Shamil, exposing himself to enemy fire; for his bravery he received Russian decorations. In 1860 he spent two weeks touring with Tsar Alexander II through the Kuban, then travelled with Prince Albert of Prussia to Armenia and the Caspian shores, returning to Munich in 1863. Once home he began the battle paintings that established his reputation. A planned second return to the Caucasus was thwarted by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, and he died of diphtheria nine months later.