Heinrich Füger was born in Heilbronn, a small town in south-western Germany midway between Heidelberg and Stuttgart, on December 8, 1751. By age eight, he was already painting miniature portraits; however, at age fifteen, he became discouraged with art and decided to study law. He returned to art, and began study with the historical painter Adam Friedrich Oeser in Leipzig. Füger's work caught the attention of the British and Swedish ambassadors to the court of Saxony at Dresden; where he achieved considerable success. In 1774 he went to Vienna and under the patronage of the empress Maria Theresa, he painted many portraits of the imperial family and Viennese aristocracy. In 1776, he moved to Italy, where he studied classical art and the works of Raphael and Anton Raphael Mengs, and he produced both miniatures and important large-scale works. Füger returned to Vienna in 1783. There he became vice-director of the Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1795 its director. As court painter he became the most popular portrait artist in Vienna. However, by about 1798, an eye ailment prevented his painting miniatures and he returned to painting large-scale pictures. He died in Vienna on November 5, 1818.