{{Infobox artist
| name = Christoph Ludwig Agricola
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| image = File:Christoph Ludwig Agricola.jpg|
| image_size = 200px
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| caption = Portrait engraving by Bernhard Vogel
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| birth_date = 5 November 1665
| birth_place = Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
| death_date =
| death_place = Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
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| known_for = Painting, etching
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Christoph Ludwig Agricola (5 November 1665 – 8 August 1724) was a German landscape painter and etcher. He was born and died in Regensburg (Ratisbon).
Life and career
Christoph Ludwig Agricola was born on 5 November 1665 in Regensburg in Germany. He trained, as many painters of the period did, by studying nature.Viardot, L., An Illustrated History of Painters of All Schools, Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1877, p. 258; Kugler, F., Handbook of Painting: The German, Flemish, and Dutch Schools, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1874, p. 567
He spent a great part of his life in travel visiting England, the Netherlands and France, and residing for a considerable period in Naples, where he may have been influenced by Nicolas Poussin.Viardot, L., An Illustrated History of Painters of All Schools, Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1877, p. 258; Kugler, F., Waagen, F.G. and Crowe, J.A., The German, Flemish and Dutch Schools of Painting, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1911, p. 567 He also stayed in Venice for several years around 1712, where he painted many works for Zaccaria Sagredo.Boni, Page 8
He died in Regensburg in 1724.
Work
Although he primarily worked in gouache and oils, documentary sources show that he also produced a small number of etchings.Ottley, W., Notices of Engravers, and Their Works, being the Commencement of a new Dictionary, which it is not intended to continue, containing some account of upwards of three hundred masters, etc, 1831 He was a good draughtsman, used warm lighting and exhibited a warm, masterly brushstroke.Kugler, F., Handbook of Painting: The German, Flemish, and Dutch Schools, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1874, p. 567
His numerous landscapes, chiefly cabinet pictures, are remarkable for their fidelity to nature, and especially for their skilful representation of varied phases of climate, especially nocturnal scenes and weather phenomena like thunderstorms.Koziel, A., "The Forgotten Star of Wroclaw: A Few Words about the Work of Christian Johann Bendeler (1699–1728)" in: Šeferisová Loudová, M., Kroupa, J. and Lubomír, K., Orbis artium: k jubileu Lubomíra Slavíčka, Vol. 1, Brno, Masarykova Univerzita, 2009, pp. 219–233 PDF Online: In composition, his style shows the influence of Nicolas Poussin: Agricola's work often displays idealistic scenes like Poussin's work.Macfall, H., The Renaissance in the North; and the Flemish Genius, [Volume 4 in the series, History of Painting], Dana Estes and Company, 2004, p.145 In light and colour Agricola's work resembles that of Claude Lorrain. His compositions often include ruins of ancient buildings in the foreground, but his favourite foreground figures were men dressed in Oriental attire. He also produced a series of etchings of birds.Watercolours, Pictures and Prints of Birds [Auction Catalogue], Christie, Manson & Woods, 1989, pp 18–19
His pictures can be found in Dresden, Braunschweig, Vienna, Florence, Naples and many other locations in Germany and Italy.
Legacy
He probably tutored the artist Johann Theile and had a strong influence on him.Killy, W. and Vierhaus, R., Thibaut – Zycha, Walter de Gruyter, 2011, p. 2; Kugler, F., Waagen, F.G. and Crowe, J.A., The German, Flemish and Dutch Schools of Painting, Volume 2, J. Murray, 1911, p. 567 Art historians have also noted that the work of the landscape painter Christian Johann Bendeler (1699–1728) was influenced by Agricola.
Gallery
<gallery mode=packed heights=180>
File:Christoph Ludwig Agricola (zugeschr.) - Eine Flusslandschaft mit Anglern.jpg|River landscape
File:Christoph Ludwig Agricola - Großer Hänfling und Schopfmeise.jpg|Greater Redpole and crested titmous; Bluethroat
File:Christoph Ludwig Agricola (Umkreis) - Räuber schießen auf Reisende.jpg|Bandits Shooting at Travellers
File:Christoph Ludwig Agricola - Trappe un Elster in exotischer Landschaft.jpg|A bustard and a magpie in an exotic landscape
File:Christoph Ludwig Agricola - Ein Vogel auf einem Ast.jpg|A bird seated on a branch
File:Wintergezicht met ijsvermaak, RP-T-1898-A-3549.jpg|Winter face with ice entertainment
File:Christoph Ludwig Agricola - Singvogel auf einem Nadelbaum.jpg|Songbird in an Evergreen
</gallery>