Johann Melchior Wyrsch (August 21, 1732 – September 9, 1798) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

of the 18th century.

Life

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

Buochs Buochs is a municipality in the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland. History Buochs is first mentioned in 1124 as ''Boches''. In 1184, it was mentioned as ''Buoches'', then in 1210 as ''Buches'', and in 1229 as ''Buchs''. Geography Buochs has ...

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'', now t ...

. 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 Johann, typically a male given name, is the German language, German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin language, Latin form of the Greek language, Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew language, Hebrew name ''Johanan (name ...

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

Franz Anton Kraus Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see ...

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 p ...

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 re ...

, 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, 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 re ...

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 and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 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

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 who ...

Legacy

In the transition from

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

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 Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

numerous altars in Central Switzerland and the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

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 Felix Maria Diogg (1 July 1762 – 19 February 1834) was a Swiss painter. Born in Andermatt, as an adult he made Rapperswil his home. Diogg is considered the most important Swiss Classicism portraitist. Life and work Born as the son of Kathari ...

(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