Krafft was born in
Stockholm, Sweden. He was the son of portraitist
Per Krafft the Elder (1724–1793) and Maria Vilhelmina Ekebom (1749–1820) and was the brother of portrait miniaturist
Wilhelmina Krafft (1778–1828). {{cite web|url= http://www.all-art.org/neoclasscism/david1.html In 1801, for a major Academy exhibition in Stockholm, Krafft sent home three works:
Belisarius, a smiling Cupid, and
Paris as a shepherd; all composed in
neoclassical style. In 1802 he traveled to Italy, where he drew cityscapes, studied the
Old Masters and made copies of
Raphael. In May 1803 he returned from Florence to Paris, where he became a highly sought-after portrait painter. In 1805, he returned to Stockholm, where he had received an appointment as a
court painter. In 1808, he was chosen as a Deputy Professor at the Academy and, following the death of
Carl Frederik von Breda in 1818, was promoted to a full Professor of Drawing; a position he held until 1856 During his career, Krafft painted more than 400 portraits, including 60 drawings, and hundreds of other works. In addition, Krafft painted about 100 paintings with biblical, historical and other motifs. ==Personal life==