Balthasar Riepp

Balthasar Riepp (22 November 1703, Kempten - 2 August 1764 in Vils) was a German-Austrian painter, primarily of religious subjects.

[1] In 1725, after some time as an apprentice to Jacob Carl Stauder, he took a two-year study trip to Italy, courtesy of a stipend from Anselm Reichlin von Meldegg [de], the new Prince-abbott.

In 1740, shortly after obtaining his Bürgerrechtes (citizenship) in Reutte, Riepp's only child, Johann Anton Laurentius, died.

[2] He began drinking heavily, which led to a separation from his wife and, as his condition worsened, he was accused of offending public morals.

For the 300th anniversary of his birth in 2003, an exhibition called Genie im Schatten (Genius in the Shadows) toured Kempten, Reutte, Breitenwang and Vils.