portrait and historical painter of the German Neoclassical school who did much to infuse a classical spirit into the arts of the late 18th century.

Carstens studied at Copenhagen Academy (1776–83) but was largely self-educated. He went to Italy in 1783, where he was impressed by Leonardo da Vinci's “Last Supper” and Giulio Romano's frescoes in the Palazzo del Te in Mantua. He went to Berlin in 1787 and within three years became a professor at the Academy there. In 1792 he moved to Rome on a grant from the Prussian state to study fresco painting. There he was inspired by the works of Raphael and Michelangelo and strove for a noble and monumental style depicting classical themes.

Carstens often used scenes from Greco-Roman mythology as his themes. His subjects were taken from Homer, Pindar, Dante, and Shakespeare, among others. His public exhibition in Rome in 1795 of such paintings as “Night with Her Children Sleep and Death” (1795) drew critical acclaim and gained him so many supporters that he remained there until his death.