Anton Bütler, born Joseph Antonius Laurentius Bütler (12 August 1819, Auw – 18 November 1874,

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

) was a Swiss landscape, history and church painter.

Life and work

He was the son of

Niklaus Bütler Niklaus Bütler (28 October 1786, Auw – 14 November 1864, Lucerne) was a Swiss painter; primarily of portraits. Life and work He received his artistic training in Zürich, with Johann Heinrich Wüest and Johann Kaspar Huber (1752-1827). Up ...

, an artist, and his wife Anna Maria née Trutmann. He spent most of his childhood and youth in

Küssnacht Küssnacht am Rigi (official name since 2004: Küssnacht) is a village and a district and a municipality in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The municipality consists of the three villages Küssnacht, Immensee, and Merlischachen, the hamlet ...

, where his family moved in 1820. His first lessons in art came from his father. When he was sixteen, he went to the

Academy of Fine Arts Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

; copying the

Dutch Masters Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republi ...

and working as an assistant to

Peter von Cornelius Peter von Cornelius (23 September 1783, Düsseldorf – 6 March 1867, Berlin) was a German Painting, painter; one of the main representatives of the Nazarene movement. He was the uncle of the composer Peter Cornelius (1824–1874). Life Earl ...

. In 1840, he settled in Lucerne, where his family had moved the year before, and set up a studio. In 1844, he was commissioned to decorate the . He also painted some

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s. In 1848, he left Lucerne for further studies. Some sources say he returned to Munich, others that he went to the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...

and worked under the direction of

Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow (7 September 1789 – 19 March 1862) was a German Romantic painter. Biography He was born in Berlin, the second son of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow, who gave him his first lessons in drawing. He then turn ...

. From 1855 to 1857, he was in Rome. From 1865 to 1868, seeking to promote his career, he lived in Düsseldorf, with his brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, who was also a painter. He went back to Lucerne, however, and remained there for the rest of his life. His later works included historical and religious scenes, as well as landscapes. He also promoted the establishment of a drawing school for craftsmen, and worked on preservation projects at several churches, as well as at a chapel dedicated to

William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

, in Küssnacht, which his father had helped decorate in 1834.

Sources

* "Bütler, Anton", In: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol. 5: Brewer–Carlingen, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig, 1911
Online
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External links

19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters Düsseldorf school of painting 1819 births 1874 deaths 19th-century Swiss male artists {{Switzerland-painter-stub