Frederick Vezin also Fred or Frederik (14 August 1859,

Torresdale, Philadelphia Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring Bucks County. The adjacent co ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

,Charles Joseph Cohen: ''Memoir of Rev. John Wiley Faires, A. M., D. D., Founder and Principal of the Classical Institute, Philadelphia. A Teacher from 1831 to 1888, with Photographs and Biographic Sketches of Upward of Five Hundred of His Former Pupils'' 1926, p. 781 ff. - ,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

) was an American-born German painter, engraver and lithographer.

Biography

Vezin was born on August 14, 1859 in Torresdale, Philadelphia. He was the son of Charles Vezin and Caroline Vezin, née Kalisky. His family originally came from

Saint-Florentin, Yonne Saint-Florentin () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It lies at the confluence of the rivers Armançon and Armance, and on the Canal de Bourgogne. Twin towns Saint-Florentin is twinned wi ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. According to Richard Böger, Pierre Vezin (1654–1727) was forced to flee after he gave assistance to the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

, even though he was a Catholic. He settled down in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

as a viola player. For two generations, the Vezin family lived in

and

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

. In 1813, Charles Henri/Carl Heinrich Vezin (1782–1853), Fredericks grandfather, emigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. The family produced several creative artists in addition to Frederick, including his uncle, the actor

Hermann Vezin Hermann Vezin (March 2, 1829 – June 12, 1910) was an American actor, teacher of elocution and writer. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania. Life and work Vezin was born in Philadelphia, Pe ...

, and his brother, Charles Vezin (1858–1942), also a painter. During his childhood and youth, Vezin frequently travelled between Germany and the USA. He attended a school in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and from 1868 to 1871 he attended the Classical Institute in Philadelphia. In 1876, Frederick decided to return to Germany to study art at 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, Magdalena Jetelová, ...

, where he studied landscape painting with

Georg Heinrich Crola Georg Heinrich Crola (6 June 1804, Dresden - 6 May 1879, Ilsenburg am Harz) was a German landscape painter in the mid-19th century. He specialized in the representation of the German forest. Life Georg Heinrich Crola was born in Dresden in 1804, ...

. Later, he studied history painting with

Peter Janssen Johann Peter Theodor Janssen (12 December 1844, Düsseldorf – 19 February 1908, Düsseldorf) was a German historical painter. Biography Janssen was born in Düsseldorf, son of the engraver (1817–1894), by whom he was first instructed befo ...

and the Nazarene artist, Karl Müller. He remained at the Academy until 1883; working with

Julius Roeting Julius Amatus Roeting (13 September 1822, in Dresden – 21 May 1896, in Düsseldorf) was a German painter. Biography He displayed artistic talent while still very young and, at the age of twelve, helped create a painting of a lion on a loca ...

Eduard von Gebhardt Franz Karl Eduard von Gebhardt (13 June 1838 – 3 February 1925) was a Baltic German painter of portraits and historical scenes, and a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Biography He was born to Ferdinand Theodor von Gebhardt (1803� ...

and

Wilhelm Sohn Johann August Wilhelm Sohn (29 August 1829, in Berlin – 16 March 1899, in Pützchen, near Bonn) was a German genre painter and art professor. Life Johann August Wilhelm Sohn was born 29 August 1829, in Berlin, Germany. In 1847, he went to ...

. After a stay in Munich, he lived in Düsseldorf from 1895 until his death. He concentrated on landscapes and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

scenes, mostly depicting high society, although he was also known for portraits. Thanks to the influence of his uncle, Hermann, he was known in England and the United States as well. He had a major showing at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts in 1893. Stylistically, he combines elements of the

Düsseldorf School Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Selected paintings

File:Frederick Vezin Junge Frau mit fliederfarbenem Tuch.jpg, Young Woman in a Lilac Shawl File:Frederick Vezin At the ball.jpg, At the Ball File:Frederick Vezin Summer Day on the Beach.jpg, Summer Day on the Beach File:Frederick Vezin Badenixe im Waldbach.jpg, Bather in a Forest Stream

References

Sources

* *

Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf The Kunstpalast, formerly Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf is an art museum in Düsseldorf. History The roots of the museum go back around 300 years. In 1932, the collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Academy of Art) was housed in the Kunstmus ...

and

Galerie Paffrath The Galerie Paffrath is an art gallery in Düsseldorf, Germany, specialising in paintings of the 19th century. Profile Galerie Paffrath specialises in 19th-century paintings, in particular works by painters of the Düsseldorf school of painting, ...

: ''Lexikon der Düsseldorfer Malerschule''. Vol.3, Bruckmann, Munich 1998 * Hermann Vezin: from ''In the days of my Youth. Containing the Autobiographies of Thirty-Four well-known Men and Women of today''. Introduction by T. O'Connor. C. Arthur Pearson, London 1901
Online
* Friedrich von Boetticher: ''Malwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts''. II. Band, 2. Hälfte. 1901

External links

ArtNet: More works by Vezin.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vezin, Frederick 1859 births 1933 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists Modern painters German genre painters American emigrants to Germany Artists from Philadelphia