Joseph Niklaus Bütler, born Josephus Nicolaus Gallus Bütler (16 October 1822,

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 ...

– 20 January 1885,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

) was a Swiss landscape painter; associated with the Düsseldorfer Malerschule.

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 received his first art lessons from his father. He began painting around 1840, after his family had taken up residence in

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 ...

. From 1852 to 1853, he attended classes taught by the landscape painter,

Johann Wilhelm Schirmer Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (5 September 1807 in Jülich – 11 September 1863 in Karlsruhe) was a German landscape artist born in Jülich, within the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian Duchy of Jülich. Biography Schirmer was started as a student of ...

, 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, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...

. In 1858, following a brief return to Lucerne, to resolve some financial issues, he settled in Düsseldorf. For a short time, he shared his home with his brother Anton, who was also an artist. He devoted himself exclusively to landscape painting; presenting scenes from the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

, rendered in the popular style. He was also influenced by the writings of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

, who spoke of unadulterated nature as a refuge of freedom. Later, he came under the influence of the simpler style employed by the Barbizon school. In 1868, he married Sophie Antonia Jungheim, a sister of his friend, the painter Carl Jungheim. From 1859 to 1884, he was a member of the progressive artists' association " Malkasten" (Paintbox). He also took part in exhibitions presented by the , and continued to have showings in Switzerland.

Sources

*
"Bütler, Joseph Nicolaus"
In: Friedrich von Boetticher. ''Malerwerke des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte''. Vol.I, Dresden 1895, pg.151. * "Bütler, Joseph Nikolaus", In: ''Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart'', Vol. 5: Brewer–Carlingen, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig, 1911
Online

External links

19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters Düsseldorf school of painting 1822 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Swiss male artists {{Switzerland-painter-stub