Johann Melchior Wyrsch (August 21, 1732 – September 9, 1798) was a Swiss painter of the 18th century.

Life

Johann Melchior Wyrsch was born on August 21, 1732, in Buochs,

Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas''(''between the forests''), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or '' Talschaften'', no ...

. He was the son of Balthazar Francis Xavier, Councillor, bailiff and Diet envoy, and Anna Klara Achermann. Wyrsch began his art studies 1745 as a portrait painter with Johann Michael Suter in Lucerne and Franz Anton Kraus in

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area ...

as teachers. Between 1753 and 1754 he spent a study tour in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where he mainly resided in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. After his art studies in Italy, he returned to Switzerland and began his artistic activity as a portrait and church painter. In 1768 he moved to

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

, where he painted many

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

of respected people. Together with the

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Luc Breton, whom he had met in Rome, he founded in 1773 the academy for painting and drawing '' '' ('' Académie de Peinture et de dessin '' ) in Besançon. In 1877 he traveled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and returned to Besançon, where he was appointed in 1784 an honorary citizen. In the same year he moved to Lucerne, where he proposed to the Council of Lucerne in 1783 to found a School of Drawing with the task to teach talented young students in drawing and modeling. With an increasing blindness ascribed to

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

, he withdrew to Buochs, where at the Conquest Nidwalden he was murdered by the troops of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Legacy

In the transition from Baroque and

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

on the one hand to Classical and

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

on the other hand Wyrsch participated in the development of

for differentiated characterization of a single individual. He was enshrined in the "enlightened paternalism" of the Old Confederation, however, his work has been on the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

bourgeois era. He painted as a religious painter numerous altars in

Central Switzerland Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug. Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 Stat ...

and the Franche-Comté that are still adorned with his paintings. He remained a central Swiss painter of the late Baroque. In 1780 the abbot of Disentis, Columban Sozzi, paid attention to the talent of Felix Maria Diogg (1762–1834), and enabled him to travel to Wyrsch in Besançon.

Literature

* Matthias Vogel, Regine Helbling, Marianne Baltensperger (Eds.):

Powdered and cleaned. Johann Melchior Wyrsch 1732–1798. Portraitist and church painter '', Schwabe, 1998. * Dr. Paul Fischer:

'' The painter Johann Melchior Wyrsch of Buochs, 1732 - 1798 , His Life and Work, commission publishing, bookstore C. Bachmann, Zurich 1938 * Johann Kaspar Fuessli:
History of the best artists in Switzerland
'' Johann Melchior Joseph Würsch (page 102-109), Orell, Gessner, Füsslin and Comp, Zurich, 1779 * Wyrsch, Johann (Jean) Melchior Joseph (Josef)

', Swiss Institute for Art Research, Hans-Peter Wittwer

References

Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz

'' *''This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyrsch, Johann Melchior 18th-century Swiss painters 18th-century Swiss male artists Swiss male painters 1732 births 1798 deaths