Joseph Melling

[1] In 1750, he was awarded the Prix de Rome in painting for his version of Laban giving his daughter to Jacob.

In 1760, he completed a ceiling painting in the large marble hall of the Palace and, in 1764, decorated the altar at the Stadtkirche in Rastatt.

He also served as an advisor to Countess Karoline Luise, helping her to acquire an art collection that later became the basis of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe.

In 1774, for financial reasons, he left Karlsruhe for Strasbourg, where he founded an art school; the "Academie de déssin d’après nature".

[1] He retained his contacts with the court, however and, after the death of Karoline Luise in 1783, created a catalog and directory of her collection.