Nicolas Untersteller (1900–1967) was a French painter.

Early life

He was born in Stiring-Wendel, Lorraine, during the first German annexation. After studies at the School of Decorative Arts in

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 ...

from 1921 to 1923, he joined the

Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

in Paris at the workshops of

Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biograph ...

(1854–1924),

Jean-Pierre Laurens Jean-Pierre Laurens (18 March 1875, Paris23 April 1932, Fontenay-aux-Roses) was a French painter; primarily of figures and portraits. Biography He was the youngest son of the painter, Jean-Paul Laurens. His older brother, Paul Albert Laurens ...

(1875–1932) and his brother Paul Albert Laurens (1870–1934), also professors at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

. He went to

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, ...

in Rome from 1929 to 1931. He received the

Grand Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1928.

Career

In 1930, he was a professor of painting and drawing at the Academy Yvon and created in 1931 a school of painting in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

and presented his exhibition "Return of Rome". From 1933 to 1934, he was a boarder at

Casa de Velázquez The ''Casa de Velázquez'' is a French school in Spain modelled on the Villa Médicis in Rome, and Villa Abd-el-Tif in Algeria.''75 aniversario de la Casa de Velázquez. Memoria gráfica 1928-2003'', Madrid, Casa de Velázquez, 2006, 182 p. - ac ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain. A member of the Academy of Fine Arts, Untersteller taught

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 ...

at the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1937. He was appointed a member of the Board of Fine Arts of Paris in 1940. From 1941 to 1948 he was a professor, head of the painting workshop. Among his pupils were Jean-Marie Patel, better known today under his pseudonym

Arcabas Jean-Marie Pirot (December 26, 1926 – August 23, 2018), popularly known as Arcabas (a name given to him by his pupils), was a French contemporary sacred artist. Pirot was born in Trémery. He studied in the ''École Nationale Supérieure des ...

, painter of sacred art, , Antoine Camilleri and . In 1948 he was appointed Director of the École Nationale.Gloc, Marie (2008). Nicolas Untersteller. pp. pages 56 –61.

Personal life

He married , also a painter, in 1929. In 1934 his daughter Marguerite-Marie was born in Metz. The year 1940 saw the birth of his son Louis-Paul, at Sèvres.

References

1900 births 1967 deaths 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 19th-century French male artists {{France-painter-19thC-stub