Johann Heinrich Bleuler, the Elder (31 December 1758 – 25 January 1823) was a Swiss artist who worked with

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

, landscape sketches and

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache h ...

. He was also an art teacher and a publisher of engravings.

Life

He was born in Zollikon and initially trained as a porcelain painter at the near Zürich. At the beginning of the 1780s, he settled in

Feuerthalen Feuerthalen is a municipality in the district of Andelfingen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Langwiesen also belongs to the same municipality. History Feuerthalen is first mentioned in 876 as ''Langewisa''. In 1318 it was mentioned as ...

and established a dynasty of artists that became known as the "Bleulerische Malschule". Between 1799 and 1804, he worked at Laufen Castle near Schaffhausen, then returned home. He catered to the popular tastes of the time; often in the style of Ludwig Hess, who had died prematurely. Much of his art involved

landscapes and panoramic views of Swiss cities. His watercolors are in the collection of the

ETH Zürich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

. During his final years, he mostly painted flowers. Bleuler died in 1823 in Feuerthalen.

The Bleulerische Malschule

He had four children. His eldest son, Johann Heinrich Bleuler, the Younger (1787–1857) specialized in painting

vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre ...

. His second son, Johann Ludwig, was a landscape painter and art publisher. He also took two of his godchildren into his home when their parents died; Johann Heinrich Uster (1774–1866), who married Bleuler's daughter Karoline, and Johann Heinrich Wirz (1785–1866). Later, he adopted Anna Bose (1783–1851), who married Wirz and became a gouache painter.Carl Seidel: ''Die Maler-Familie Bleuler in Feuerthalen.'' In: ''Berliner Kunst-Blatt.'' Heft 1, 1828,
S. 148–153
Eventually, his family and descendants included twenty-five artists.

References

Sources

* Johann Heinrich Bleuler der Ältere. In: Ulrich Thieme, Felix Becker (Eds.): ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart''. Begründet von Ulrich Thieme und Felix Becker. Vol.4: Bida–Brevoort. Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1910, pg.11

* Ursula Isler-Hungerbühler: ''Die Maler vom Schloß Laufen. Kulturgeschichtliche Studie.'' Rascher, Zürich 1953. * Robert Pfaff: ''Die Bleuler Malschule auf Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall.'' Kuhn-Druck, Neuhausen am Rheinfall 1985, .

External links

More works by Bleuler
@ ArtNet *
Dle Bleulerische Malschule auf Rheinfall.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleuler, Johann Heinrich 18th-century Swiss painters 18th-century Swiss male artists Swiss male painters 19th-century Swiss painters 1758 births 1823 deaths 19th-century Swiss male artists