Karl Jauslin (21 May 1842 – 12 October 1904) was a Swiss painter and illustrator, known mostly for historical and battle scenes.
Biography
His father was, successively, a quarry worker, a personal servant and a member of the Cantonal police. This necessitated several moves. He drew continuously while in school, portraying figures from history and his classmates.
After his father's death in 1858, he went to work as a construction laborer to help support his family. This proved to be too strenuous for his health, so he found employment at a spinning mill in
Dornach
: ''Dornach is also a quarter of the French city of Mulhouse and the Scots name for Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands, and Dòrnach is the Gaelic name for Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands.''
Dornach (Swiss German: ''Dornech'') is a municipalit ...
, owned by Achilles Alioth (1822-1898), an entrepreneur from
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...
. Eventually, he went to Alioth with his drawings and paintings. Surprisingly, Alioth took pity on him and helped him become apprenticed to a decorative painter in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
named Bernhard Thommen (1826-1868).
As it turned out, he went to work for Thommen's company, painting decorations and stage sets. He remained with him for eight years. Every so often, he would send a painting to Alioth, who believed that Jauslin was studying, which he was, but only part-time in evening classes at the "Zeichnungs- und Modellierschule". During this time, his girlfriend emigrated to America with her family and he decided to remain single.
![Erdbeben Basel Jauslin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Erdbeben_Basel_Jauslin.JPG)
After Thommen's death, he had to support himself with odd jobs while trying to sell his paintings, until the beginning of the
Franco-Prussian War, when the publisher,
Eduard Hallberger, of Stuttgart, hired him to do illustrations of scenes from the war for the magazine ''
Über Land und Meer
''Über Land und Meer'' (German: ''Over Land and Sea'') was a German illustrated news and political magazine published in Stuttgart, Germany, between 1858 and 1923. Its subtitle was ''Allgemeine illustrierte Zeitung''.
History and profile
''Übe ...
''. This assignment took him to the military hospital in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
,
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
during the
bombardment
A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings.
Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...
, the
Siege of Belfort
The siege of Belfort (3 November 1870 – 18 February 1871) was a 103-day military assault and blockade of the city of Belfort, France by Prussian forces during the Franco-Prussian War. The French garrison held out until the January 1871 arm ...
and
Les Verrières
Les Verrières () is a municipality in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
History
Les Verrières is first mentioned in 1344 as ''villa de Verreriis''. Jt was here that General Charles-Denis Bourbaki crossed the Swiss border with the rem ...
for the entry of the
Armée de l'Est
The Armée de l'Est (''Army of the East''; German - Ostarmee; also Second Loire Army; nicknamed the 'Bourbaki army' after its first commander General Charles Denis Sauter Bourbaki) was a French army which took part in the Franco-Prussian War of ...
. This enabled him to begin studying at the
State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart
The State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart (German: Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart) is a university in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded on 25 June 1761, and located since 1946 on the Weißenhof, the Academy, whose historical sig ...
, while continuing to work for Hallberger. He also travelled to Vienna, to make copies of the
, and created anatomical illustrations at the city hospital for publications by Doctor
Salomon Stricker
Salomon Stricker (1 January 1834 – 2 April 1898) was an Austrian pathologist and histologist.
Career
Stricker was born in Waag-Neustadtl (Hungarian: Vágújhely, now Nové Mesto nad Váhom in Slovakia). He studied at the University of Vienna, ...
.
Life in Muttenz
He returned home in 1876, after he had been hired by the firm of Buri & Jeker to do illustrations for the 400th anniversary of the
Battle of Morat
The Battle of Morat (also known as the Battle of Murten) was a battle in the Burgundian Wars (1474–77) that was fought on 22 June 1476 between Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and a Swiss Confederate army at Morat/Murten, about 30 kil ...
. While doing this, he developed a lifelong interest in historical uniforms and owned several, including the armor. He stayed when he was done; living with his mother and sister, Bertha, until she married and moved to America. He was able to acquire a small house in 1886, where he stayed for the rest of his life, which was lived quietly, except for a few short trips related to his work.
His paintings never became popular, and he created very few after 1877, when he failed to get a commission for
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es at the
Tellskapelle
The ''Tellskapelle'' ("Tell's chapel") is located on the ''Tellsplatte'' or ''Tellenplatte'' ("Tell's slab") on the shore of Lake Lucerne at the foot of the Axenberg cliffs (an offshoot ridge of Glärnisch, 1,022 m), in the Sisikon municipality, ...
. It wasn't until 1901 that he took up painting on a large scale again, after receiving an order for two dozen historical scenes from Doctor Heinrich Bircher (1850-1923) of
Aargau
Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
, who was also a noted military historian. Sixteen were for the opening of the "Kriegs- und Friedensmuseum" (War and Peace Museum) in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
and the other eight were shown at the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...
in St. Louis, just before his death.
![Escalade Jauslin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Escalade_Jauslin.jpg)
He suffered a stroke in 1904, after participating in a parade, where he was a costumed
standard-bearer
A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...
. He died two weeks later. His home is no longer standing, but the spot is marked by a monument. His estate included 200 sheets of poetry, written since he was seventeen and his art was looked after by his sister Lina until her death in 1948, when it was bequeathed to the city of Muttenz. It was fully displayed after 1972. A street in Muttenz has been named after him.
Further reading
* Hildegard Gantner-Schlee: "Karl Jauslin, Historienmaler und Illustrator", from the ''Baselbieter Heimatblätter'' Nr. 4, 1979, Verlag Landschäftler AG, Liestal
* Hildegard Gantner-Schlee: ''Karl Jauslins Illustrationen zur Schweizergeschichte''. Schweizerischen Akademie der Geisteswissenschaften (SAGW), Universitätsverlag Freiburg, 1987
* Karl Jauslin: ''Ein Lebensbild, von ihm selbst erzählt'' (A Picture of Life, Told by Himself). In: ''Vom Jura zum Schwarzwald'' Vol. 7, 1890
External links
Biography@ Online-Heimatkunde Muttenz
*
*
''Jauslin, Karl''.In: ''Personenlexikon des Kantons Basel-Landschaft''
More works by Jauslin@ ArtNet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jauslin, Karl
19th-century Swiss painters
Swiss male painters
20th-century Swiss painters
1842 births
1904 deaths
19th-century painters of historical subjects
19th-century Swiss male artists
20th-century Swiss male artists
People from Basel-Landschaft