The Life of Ferdinand Collmann Born in Berlin on October 9, 1762, Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand Collmann entered a world that would shape his destiny as a painter and a scholar. His early years in the Prussian capital provided the foundation for a life dedicated to the visual arts. Though he initially turned his attention toward the study of theology, the pull of the brush proved too strong to resist. By 1787, he had traveled to Berlin to study at the art academy, a decision that set him upon a path of professional distinction that would span several decades. Ferdinand Collmann remaine…