page_title: Johann Michael Wittmer
section_title: Later career
hierarchical_section_title: Johann Michael Wittmer / Life / Later career
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of Joseph Anton Koch
context_page_description: Johann Michael Wittmer was a German painter who came from a family of painters and sculptors and was associated with the "Deutschrömer". He is often referred to as "Johann Michael Wittmer II", to distinguish him from an earlier family member of the same name.
context_section_description: Tragedy struck in 1835 when most of Murnau was destroyed by a fire, leaving his family's extensive collection of paintings and drawings lying in ashes. The year 1839 saw the death of his father-in-law, Joseph Anton Koch, who had been a major influence on his painting style. After that, he became more deeply involved in his work, devoting himself almost entirely to paintings with Christian motifs in the style of the Nazarene movement.
  When Maximilian (now the King) returned to Rome, he planned to have Wittmer accompany him on another trip, but it never materialized. The King's patronage continued, however, and Wittmer made trips to Bavaria almost every year after 1857, but turned down the offer of a professorship in Munich, preferring not to make his wife and children relocate.
  He became ill during a trip to Munich and died peacefully there shortly after his arrival.
caption: Portrait of Joseph Anton Koch (mid 1830s)
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