| Friedrich August von Kaulbach | |
| Birth Date: | 4 June 1850 |
| Birth Place: | Munich |
| Death Date: | 26 July 1920 |
| Death Place: | Ohlstadt |
| Nationality: | German |
| Known For: | portraitist, historical scenes |
| Training: | Kunstgewerbeschule |
| Notable Works: | Spanish Dancer, Girl in the Woods, Girl with her dog |
Friedrich August von Kaulbach (2 June 1850 in Munich – 26 July 1920 in Ohlstadt, Germany) was a German portraitist and historical painter.
He was born to a family that included several well known artists and began his studies with his father, Friedrich Kaulbach. He then attended the Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg, where he studied with August von Kreling and Karl Raupp. He transferred to the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, in 1871 and worked with Wilhelm von Diez. In 1883, he became a teacher there himself.[1]
Along with Franz von Lenbach and Franz von Stuck, he was known as one of the "Malerfürsten" (painter princes) and was one of the highest paid portrait painters in Germany. His works were commissioned by the uppermost social circles there and in America. His painting, "Children's Carnival" (the five children of mathematician Alfred Pringsheim), shows Katia Pringsheim (far left), who would later marry the writer, Thomas Mann. Several stays in Paris followed. In 1886, he was appointed Director of the Munich Academy and was ennobled.[2] He was also a member of the Prussian Academy of Art in Berlin.
In 1897, he married Frida Scotta, a famous Danish violist. His daughter Hedda married the sculptor,, and his daughter, who was a singer, married the painter Max Beckmann.
His brother, Sigmund (1854–1894), was also a painter, as were his half-siblings, Anton and . His half-sister,, was a novelist.
In 1893, he built the Kaulbach-Villa in Ohlstadt, which served as a second summer residence. Since 1997, it has been a museum, showing thirty of his paintings and a number of drawings. His studio is maintained in its original state.