Christian Schussele (born 16 April 1824 in
Guebwiller
Guebwiller (french: Guebwiller, ; Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est currently in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015.
It is situated northwest of Mulhous ...
, Alsace – 20 August 1879 in
Merchantville, New Jersey
Merchantville is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 3,821,[Adolphe Yvon
Adolphe Yvon (1817–1893) was a French painter known for his paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Yvon studied under Paul Delaroche, rose to fame during the Second Empire, then finished his career as a teacher.
Career
Shortly after the end of t ...]
and
Paul Delaroche
Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...
1842–1848 and then came to the United States. Here, for some time, he worked at
chromolithography
Chromolithography is a method for making multi-colour prints. This type of colour printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and includes all types of lithography that are printed in colour. When chromolithography is used to reproduce ph ...
which he had also pursued in France. Later he devoted himself almost entirely to painting.
His ''Men of Progress'' (1857) featured a group portrait of nineteen American inventors and innovators. While all those portrayed were still alive, they had never met as a group but were composed from existing individual portraits.
It is now housed in
Cooper Union, New York City;
Other well-known works include ''Clear the Track'' (1851); ''Franklin before the Lords in Council'' (1856); ''Zeisberger preaching to the Indians'' (1859); ''The Iron-Worker and King Solomon'' (1860); ''Washington at Valley Forge'' (1862); ''McClellan at Antietam'' (1863); and ''Home on Furlough'' (1864).
About 1863, he was attacked by palsy in the right hand. In 1865, he went abroad and underwent severe treatment with no apparent benefit. On his return, in 1868, he was elected to fill the chair, then founded, of drawing and painting in the
Pennsylvania Academy
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and Private university, private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. , which he held until his death. During this period he produced ''Queen Esther denouncing Haman,'' owned by the Academy (1869), and ''The Alsatian Fair'' (1870). Most of the paintings that have been named became widely known through large prints by
John Sartain
John Sartain (October 24, 1808 – October 25, 1897) was an English-born American artist who pioneered mezzotint engraving in the United States.
Biography
John Sartain was born in London, England. He learned line engraving, and produced several o ...
and other engravers.
Painter
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists.
For the length ...
covered Schussele's classes when he was too ill to teach. Eakins succeeded Schussele as instructor of painting and drawing at the Academy.
File:Christian Schussele - Men of Progress - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Men of Progress'' (1857), Cooper Union, New York City.
File:'King Solomon and the Iron Worker' by Christian Schussele, 1863.JPG, ''King Solomon and the Iron Worker'' (1863), , Philadelphia.
File:Christian Schussele - Washington Irving and his Literary Friends at Sunnyside - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Washington Irving and his Literary Friends at Sunnyside'' (1864), National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
File:Ocean Life MET DT4897.jpg , ''Ocean Life'', circa 1859, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Notes
References
*
1824 births
1879 deaths
19th-century American painters
American male painters
People from Guebwiller
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts faculty
19th-century American male artists
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