1804–1854
Johann Matthias Ranftl was an Austrian painter and graphic artist associated with the Biedermeier period, best known for his genre scenes and his remarkable affection for depicting dogs, earning him nicknames like “the Raphael of Dogs.”
Born in Vienna on January 20, 1804, Ranftl came from a family with artistic ties—his grandfather had settled in Vienna from Regensburg, and his mother nurtured his early interest in art. He began formal training at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 1817, studying under Johann Baptist Lampi and Anton Petter, and later under Johann Peter Krafft.
A transformative journey through Switzerland and Germany in 1819 inspired him to focus on landscape painting. His first Academy exhibition in 1826 featured a portrait and a historical painting. That same year, he traveled to Russia, working in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where he gained access to aristocratic circles and painted numerous portraits, including a series of illustrations for Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin.”
After returning to Vienna, Ranftl completed several altarpieces and a series of fifteen life-sized royal portraits for the county hall in Varaždin (now Croatia). From 1831 onward, he lived permanently in Vienna and began focusing more on genre painting, depicting rural life and urban scenes with great sensitivity. His affection for dogs made them frequent protagonists in his work, solidifying his reputation as a specialist in canine subjects.
In 1836, he traveled to London as part of the entourage of Austrian ambassador Prince Paul Esterházy. He married Aloisia Hartmann in 1840 and became a full member of the Vienna Academy in 1849.
Ranftl also experimented with printmaking in his later years and invented a galvanographic printing technique known as the “Ranftl process.” He died of dysentery in Vienna on November 1, 1854.
He was buried with honors at the Vienna Central Cemetery. In recognition of his contributions, Ranftlgasse (in Vienna’s 17th and 18th districts) and the Ranftlmühle in Styria were named after him.
