Johann Paul Adolf Kiessling was a German history, genre and portrait painter

Paul Kiessling studied at the Dresden Art Academy under Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. His painting “Orpheus and Eurydice” won him the first prize and a scholarship in 1855, which enabled him to study in Italy from 1857 to 1869.

He worked in Berlin from 1869 to 1870, after which he settled in Dresden. In 1881 he was elected an honorary member of the Dresden Academy.

In addition to genre painting, he dealt with history painting with themes from classical mythology and religious themes. His works were influenced by the art of the Nazarenes.