Religion

Philipp Veit was the grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn and the stepson of the poet and critic Friedrich von Schlegel. He studied with the great romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich in Dresden. Veit converted to Catholicism in 1810 and went on to paint many Christian subjects. From 1815 to 1830, he lived in Rome, where he was a leading figure in the Nazarenes, a group of German romantic painters. From 1830 to 1843, Veit served as director of the Städel Institute in Frankfurt, where he painted the fresco The Introduction of the Arts to Germany through Christianity (1832–1836).