Tobias Stranover (1684–1756) was a Hungarian-born painter from Sibiu, a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. He was best known for decorative still lifes and bird paintings.
Son of painter Jeremias Stranover the Elder and brother of Jeremias Stranover the Younger, Tobias was likely trained by his father.
Stranover worked in Szeben, Holland, Hamburg, Dresden, and later London. He is believed to have arrived in England in 1703 with the entourage of William Paget, ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
In London, Stranover studied with his uncle, the Hungarian flower and bird painter Jacob Bogdani, whose daughter Elizabeth he married around 1720. Living near Bogdani in Covent Garden, he adopted a similar style, often reusing motifs from his father-in-law’s works. After Bogdani’s death in 1724, Stranover inherited part of his estate and studio contents.
Among his patrons was physician and collector Richard Mead. In 1733 Stranover travelled to Vienna and Germany, likely producing commissions for Schloss Ahrensburg near Hamburg. His final dated painting is from 1731, and he later settled in Bath.
Stranover’s works are held in museums in Budapest, Hamburg, and Schwerin.