Adolf Zimmermann

His father was a servant of Count Adolf Friedrich Abraham von Gersdorf at Schloss Lodenau, who received a plot of land in nearby Neusorge as a reward for faithful service.

The Count also sponsored and provided an education for Adolf, who became a student at the Moravian Pädagogium in Niesky, where his artistic talent was encouraged.

After graduating, on the recommendation of the Academy's Director, Count Heinrich Carl Wilhelm Vitzthum von Eckstädt, he obtained a Royal Scholarship for the purpose of making a study trip to Italy.

[1] In the Fall of 1825 (following a secret marriage), he and his friend Carl Gottlieb Peschel undertook the trip, making several stops along the way to visit with other artists.

His desire to paint historical and religious themes remained great however and, despite his belief that "the number of artists increases in the same proportion as the public's interest decreases", he decided to move back to Dresden in 1834.

Zimmermann wrote to his former pastor in Rome, Richard Rothe, who agreed with that choice and gave him a letter of recommendation to August Hahn, a University Professor.