ELSHEIMER, ADAM German painter, born in Frankfurt, son of Anthony Elsheimer, a well-to-do tailor. He studied under Phipp Uffenbach at Frankfurt. His early work betrays Flemish influence. The manner in which his figure sub jects are staged in landscapes seems to suggest a connection with followers of Gillis van Coninxloo at Frankenthal. ("John the Baptist Preaching" in the Munich Pinakothek.) In 1S98 Elsheimer worked under Johann Rottenhamer in Munich, and here first met with the classic tradition ("St. Paul at Lystra" in the Staedel at Frankfurt ; and the "Fall of Troy" in Munich) . He left for Italy soon afterwards, stayed in Venice, and in 1600 proceeded to Rome where he remained to the end of his life. He seems to have been successful for he enjoyed the patronage of church dignitaries and the friendship of Paul Brill and Rubens. His Italian pictures with landscapes, taken from the surroundings of Rome, were com posed in the classic style, the colour being inspired by Venice. Pictures of this period are in most of the important museums of Europe. In his last works he seems to have followed Caravaggio both as regards the dark tonality and the treatment of figures. ("Ceres" at the Prado, Madrid.) At the end of his life he suffered from extreme dejection; but Sandrart's story of his debts is not altogether trustworthy.
He has been called one of the founders of modern landscape painting; for he broke away from tradition in his careful and minute study of nature. His pictures are small in size and are painted on copper. His backgrounds display distant views ; the horizon is placed low in the picture. His interpretation is roman tic. Moreover, in the rendering of light and atmosphere, he was a precursor of Rembrandt. ("Philemon and Baucis" at Dresden.) His influence on art was considerable. Many of his works were engraved by his friend and pupil, Hendrik Goudt. Pieter Last man and Jan Pynas were among his followers. The Staedel at Frankfurt has a large collection of his drawings; he also executed some engravings.
See J. v. Sandrart, Die Deutsche Akademie (1768) ; David Passavant, "Adam Elsheimer," Archiv fur Frank f urts Geschichte and Kunst, Heft 4, 8 (1847) ; W. v. Bode, "Adam Elsheimer," Jahrbuch der Kgl. Pr. Kunstsammlungen I. (188o) .