Wikipedia

Ary Scheffer

Ary Scheffer(10 February 1795 – 15 June 1858) was a Dutch-FrenchRomanticpainter.[1]He was known mostly for his works based on literature, with paintings based on the works ofDante,Goethe,Lord ByronandWalter Scott,[2]as well as religious subjects. He was also a prolific painter of portraits of famous and influential people in his lifetime. Politically, Scheffer had strong ties to KingLouis Philippe I,having been employed as a teacher of the latter's children, which allowed him to live a life of luxury for many years until theFrench Revolution of 1848.

Ary Scheffer
Self Portrait at the age of 43,c. 1838
Born(1795-02-10)10 February 1795
Dordrecht,Netherlands
Died15 June 1858(1858-06-15)(aged 63)
Argenteuil,France
NationalityDutch, French
Known forPainting
MovementRomanticism

Life

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Statue of Scheffer on theSchefferspleininDordrecht,made by Joseph Mezzara after a design by Scheffer's daughter, Cornelia
Scheffer's house inParis,France,now theMusée de la Vie romantique(Museum of Romantic Life)

Scheffer was the son ofJohan Bernard Scheffer(1765–1809), a portrait painter who was born inHomberg upon OhmorCassel(both presently inGermany;the latter has been spelled as Kassel since 1926) and moved to theNetherlandsin his youth, andCornelia Lamme(1769–1839), aportrait miniaturepainter and daughter of landscape painterArie LammeofDordrecht,for whom Arij (later "Ary" ) was named. Ary Scheffer had two brothers, the journalist and writer Karel Arnold Scheffer (1796–1853) and the painterHendrik Scheffer(1798–1862). His parents educated him and he attended the drawing academy inAmsterdamfrom the age of 11 years. In 1808 his father became the court painter ofLouis BonaparteinAmsterdam,yet his father died one year later. Encouraged byWillem Bilderdijk,Ary moved toLille,France,for further study after the death of his father. In 1811 he and his mother, who greatly influenced his career, moved toParis,France,where he studied at theÉcole des Beaux-Artsas a pupil ofPierre-Narcisse Guérin.His brothers followed them toParislater.[3]

Scheffer started exhibiting at theSalon de Parisin 1812. He began to be recognized in 1817, and in 1819 he was asked to make a portrait of theMarquis de Lafayette.Perhaps because of Lafayette's acquaintances, Scheffer and his brothers were politically active throughout their lives and he became a prominentPhilhellene.[3]

In 1822 he became drawing teacher to the children ofLouis Philippe I,theDuke of Orléans.Because of his connection with them, he obtained many commissions for portraiture and other work. In 1830 riots against the rule of KingCharles Xresulted inhis overthrow.On 30 July, Scheffer and influential journalistAdolphe Thiersrode fromParistoOrléansto askLouis Philippe Ito lead the resistance, and a few days later he became "King of the French".[3]

That same year, Scheffer's daughterCornéliawas born. He registered the name of her mother as "Maria Johanna de Nes", but nothing is known of her and she may have died soon after Cornelia's birth. Considering that his grandmother's name was "Johanna de Nes", it has been speculated that he kept the name of Cornelia's mother secret so as not to compromise the reputation of a noble family. Cornelia Scheffer (1830–1899) became a sculptor and painter in her own right.[4]Scheffer's mother did not know of her namesake granddaughter until 1837, after which she cared for her until she died only two years later.[3]Scheffer became an associate member of theRoyal Institute of the Netherlandsin 1846, and resigned in 1851.[5]

Portrait of his daughter Cornelia together with Turc the dog

Scheffer and his family prospered during the reign ofLouis Philippe I,who abdicated on 24 February 1848. Scheffer and Hendrik were inundated with artistic commissions, and they taught numerous students in their workshop inParis,so many that of the works produced during this period that bear his signature the number that he actually made himself cannot be verified.[3]

Scheffer was elevated as commander of theLegion of Honourin 1848. As a captain of theGarde Nationalehe escorted the French royal family in its escape from theTuileriesand escorted theDuchess d'Orléansto theChambre des Députés,where she in vain proposed her son as the next monarch ofFrance.Scheffer fought in the army ofCavaignacduring theJune Days UprisinginParisof 23 to 26 June 1848. The cruelty and hatred that the governmental faction exhibited and the misery of the lower classes so shocked him that he withdrew from politics and refused to make portraits of the family ofNapoléon III,who reigned after the Uprising. On 16 March 1850 he married Sophie Marin, the widow of GeneralBaudrand,and on 6 November of that year he finally became a French citizen. He continued to frequently travel to the Netherlands, and traveled toBelgium,Germany,andEngland,but a heart condition impaired his activity and eventually caused his death in 1858 in his summer house inArgenteuil.[3]He is buried in theCimetière de Montmartre.

Works

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When Scheffer left Guérin's studio,Romanticismhad come into vogue in France, with such painters asXavier Sigalon,Eugène DelacroixandThéodore Géricault.Scheffer did not show much affinity with their work and developed his own style, which has been called "frigidly classical".[6]

Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil,1854

Scheffer often painted subjects from literature, especially the works ofDante,ByronandGoethe.Two versions ofDante and Beatricehave been preserved atWolverhampton Art Gallery,United Kingdom,[7]andMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston,US.[8]HisL'Enterrement du Jeune Pêcheur,illustrating a scene from Walter Scott'sThe Antiquaryand taking inspiration fromDavid Wilkie'sDistraining for Rent,was exhibited at theSalonof 1824-25.[2]Particularly highly praised was hisFrancesca da Rimini,painted in 1836, which illustrates a scene fromDante Alighieri'sInferno.In the piece the entwined bodies of Francesca di Rimini and Paolo Malatesta swirl around in the never-ending tempest that is the second circle of Hell. The illusion of movement is created by the drapery that envelopes the couple, as well as by Francesca's flowing hair. These two figures create a diagonal line that intersects the majority of the canvas creating not only a sense of movement, but also giving the painting an air of instability.[original research?]Francesca clings to Paolo as he turns his face away in anguish. There are an additional two figures in the image: hidden in the background, the poets Dante andVirgillook on as they make their way through the nine circles of Hell.

Scheffer's popularFaust-themed paintings includeMargaret at her wheel;Faust doubting;Margaret at the Sabbat;Margaret leaving church;The garden walk,andMargaret at the well.In 1836, he painted two pictures of Goethe's characterMignon:Mignon desires her fatherland(1836), andMignon yearns for heaven(1851).[9]

Temptation of Christ,1854

He now turned to religious subjects:Christus Consolator(1836) was followed byChristus Remunerator,The shepherds led by the star(1837),The Magi laying down their crowns,Christ in the Garden of Olives,Christ bearing his Cross,Christ interred(1845), andSt Augustine and Monica(1846).

One of the reduced versions of hisChristus Consolator(theprime versiontoday to be found in theVan Gogh Museum,Amsterdam), lost for 70 years, was rediscovered in a janitor's closet in Gethsemane Lutheran Church inDassel, Minnesota,in 2007. It has been restored and is on display at theMinneapolis Institute of Art.[10]

Portrait of Katarzyna Potocka,1850 (National Museum,Warsaw)

Scheffer was also an accomplished portrait painter, finishing 500 portraits in total. His subjects included composersFrédéric ChopinandFranz Liszt,theMarquis de la Fayette,Pierre-Jean de Béranger,Alphonse de Lamartine,Charles Dickens,Duchess de Broglie,[11]Talleyrand[11]andQueen Marie Amélie.

After 1846, he ceased to exhibit. His strong ties with the royal family caused him to fall out of favour when, in 1848, theSecond Republiccame into being. Scheffer was made commander of the Legion of Honour in 1848, that is, after he had wholly withdrawn from the Salon. Shut up in his studio, he produced many paintings that were only exhibited after his death in 1858.[12]

The works first exhibited posthumously includeSorrows of the earth,and theAngel announcing the Resurrection,which he had left unfinished. By the time of his death, his reputation was damaged and was further undermined by the sale of the Paturle Gallery, which contained many of his most celebrated achievements: though his paintings were praised for their charm and facility, they were condemned for poor use of color and vapid sentiment.[12]

Friends and family

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Jesus and Angel,between 1848 and 1858
Christ Weeping Over Jerusalem,1851

At various timesMaurice Sand,Scheffer,Charles Gounod,Hector Berliozwere in relationships withPauline Viardot—in letters they claimed that they were in love with her.[13]She wrote in one letter:

Louis and Scheffer(Scheffer was the best friend ofLouis Viardot,husband of Pauline Viardot)has always been my dearest of friends, and it is sad, that I was never able to respond to the hot and deep love of Louis, despite all my volition.[14]

She was married to Louis Viardot at 18 years old, when her husband was a director of an Italian opera house in Paris and a friend of Scheffer. Scheffer was a confidant of Pauline Viardot and a friend of her family until his death.[14][15]

In 1850 Scheffer became a French citizen and married Sophie Marin, the widow of General Marie Étienne François Henri Baudrand. Marin died in 1856.[16]

Grave inCimetière de Montmartre(Paris)

His younger brotherHendrik Scheffer,born inThe Hagueon 27 September 1798, was also a painter.[17]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Wood, James,ed. (1907)."Scheffer, Ary".The Nuttall Encyclopædia.London and New York: Frederick Warne.
  2. ^abMacmillan, Duncan(2023),Scotland and the Origins of Modern Art,Lund Humphries,London, pp. 167 - 182,ISBN978-1-84822-633-3
  3. ^abcdefScheffer, Arij (1795–1858)in the Biographical Dictionary of the Netherlands: 1880–2000 (in Dutch)
  4. ^Scheffer, Cornelia (1830–1899)in the Biographical Dictionary of the Netherlands: 1880–2000 (in Dutch)
  5. ^"A. Scheffer (1795–1858)".Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.Retrieved17 July2015.
  6. ^Murray, P. & L. (1996),Dictionary of art and artists.Penguin Books.ISBN0-14-051300-0.
  7. ^Smyth, Patricia."The Vision: Dante and Beatrice".The National Inventory of Continental European Paintings.VADS.Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2018.Retrieved8 February2018.
  8. ^"Dante and Beatrice".Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.11 November 2017.Retrieved8 February2018.
  9. ^"Ary Scheffer – Societyschilder in Parijs".Dordrechts Museum.
  10. ^Wagener, Anne-Marie; Pleshek, Tammy (31 March 2009)."Scheffer's Painting of Christ the Comforter Discovered in a Church in Rural Minnesota"(Press release). Minneapolis, Minnesota:Minneapolis Institute of Art.Retrieved9 February2018.
  11. ^abReynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921)."Scheffer, Ary".Collier's New Encyclopedia.New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company.
  12. ^abChisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Scheffer, Ary".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 316.
  13. ^Журнальный зал >> Author:Ирина ЧАЙКОВСКАЯ "Полина Виардо: возможность дискуссии". Chapter: "Безобразная красавица".
  14. ^abЖурнальный зал >> Author:Ирина ЧАЙКОВСКАЯ "Полина Виардо: возможность дискуссии". Chapter: "Монашка или женщина-вамп?"
  15. ^Barbara Kendall-Davis. P. 397.
  16. ^"Ary Scheffer Paintings, Scheffer Reproductions, Biography".Archived fromthe originalon 28 August 2008.
  17. ^Bryan, Michael(1889)."Scheffer, Hendrik".In Armstrong, Sir Walter; Graves, Robert Edmund (eds.).Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers (L–Z).Vol. II (3rd ed.). London: George Bell & Sons.

Further reading

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