Catharina Sperling-Heckel

Catharina Sperling-Heckel (10 April 1699 - 28 May 1741) was a German miniature painter, etcher and engraver.

Life and work
Catharina Heckel was born in April 1699 in Augsburg. Her father was Michael Heckel. He was a goldsmith and taught Heckel how to paint and draw. She was taught engraving by Johann Ulrich Kraus. She married Hieronymus Sperling in 1725. In 1728, she painted a miniature portrait of Charles Edward Stuart. She died from complications from childbirth, within weeks of the birth of her first child, in May 1741.

Notable collections

 * Moses' arms grow heavy as he prays for the victory of the Israelites over the Amalecites; an outstretched arm is anatomically depicted, c. 1735, Wellcome Collection