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Zincke, Christian Friedrich
(b Dresden, 1683–5; d London, 24 March 1767). German painter, active in England. He was the son of a Dresden goldsmith and trained in that profession, but he also studied with the portrait painter Heinrich-Christoph Fehling. In 1706 he moved to England on the invitation of the Swedish enamellist Charles Boit, to collaborate on a very large enamel commemorating the Battle of Blenheim, a project that was never completed. Zincke continued as Boit’s pupil but soon outstripped his master and at some time after 1714 set up on his own as a miniaturist. Promoted by Godfrey Kneller, he won himself a distinguished clientele and royal patronage, culminating in his appointment in 1732 as Cabinet Painter to Frederick, Prince of Wales. Vertue, the main source for Zincke’s life, wrote that at this time he ‘was so fully employed that for some years he has had more persons of distinction sitting to him than any other Painter living’. His prodigious output meant that not all his miniatures were of equal quality; even in his heyday he was criticized for portraits that were too much alike. Failing eyesight and a need to cut productivity caused him in 1742 to raise his prices from 20 to 30 guineas a head. He retired in 1752, but his studio remained active; the assistants he employed included Jeremiah Meyer at some time after 1755. Many of Zincke’s miniatures are signed, and most were painted from life, although some were copied from larger oils; all are characterized by their very smooth and glossy surface and red stippling on the face. Fine examples of his work are in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
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