Heinrich Pommerencke: The Tea Party

• Heinrich Pommerencke (1821-1873)
• The Tea Party
• oil on canvas
• 1846
• width: 89.0 cm

The “Tea Party” group portrait, strongly characterised by Biedermeierlich’s style, shows the quality of Heinrich Pommerencke’s early works, before his training.

Heinrich Pommerencke was born in Plate and attended the Berlin Academy of Art from 1848 to 1851. A subsequent grant from Grand Duke Frederick Franz II. of Mecklenburg-Schwerin enabled him to study with Carl Joseph Begas in Berlin and the historical painter Ary Scheffer in Paris. After a short stay in Italy he returned to Schwerin in 1854 and became established as a portrait and historical painter, who received many of his commissions from members of the royal household. He lived with his family in a house in Schwerin Schelfstadt.