Josef Wolf was born in the Eifel, Germany, on 22 January 1820 on a farm in Mörz in Münstermaifeld. As a child he was known for his artistic talent. After finishing school in Metternich he was trained in Koblenz from 1836 to 1839 as a lithographer.
Through the mediation of the Frankfurter explorer Eduard Rüppel (1794-1884) in 1840 he came into contact with Johann Jacob Kaup (1803-1873) at the Grand Ducal natural history collection in Darmstadt. He promoted the extraordinary talent of the young artist and recommended him to his colleagues Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884) in Leiden and John Gould (1804-1881) in London as an illustrator.
From 1848 onward Wolf lived and worked in London, where he quickly became the most important animal painter of the 19th century.
1988
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
ca. 1870
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ca. 1870
ca. 1870