Otto Reinhold Jacobi (27 February 1812 8 February 1901) was a German-Canadian artist. He is associated with the
Düsseldorf school of painting
The Düsseldorf school of painting is a term referring to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy (now the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or Düsseldorf State Art Academy) during the 1830s and 1840s, when the A ...
.
Life and work
Born in 1830
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
, Jacobi studied in Berlin at the Royal Academy of Arts. He then studied at the
Düsseldorf Art Academy
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
with
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 ...
. As a landscape and genre painter, he worked in
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
and Canada. In 1837 he was appointed the court painter to the Duchess of Nassau in
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
. In those years, Jacobi gave the young
Ludwig Knaus his first lessons in oil painting and advised him to study under
Karl Ferdinand Sohn
Karl Ferdinand Sohn (10 December 1805 in Berlin – 25 November 1867 in Cologne) was a German painter of the Düsseldorf school of painting.
Biography
He was born in Berlin and started his studies at the age of eighteen under Wilhelm von Schad ...
at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. His work was well known in Europe and he received many commissions from royalty.
Jacobi's decision to emigrate to Canada seems sudden in light of his apparent success in Europe. While on a visit to New York in 1860, he was offered a commission to paint
Shawinigan Falls as a presentation gift was needed for the Prince of Wales state visit later that year. Instead of returning to Europe after the painting was completed, he settled in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
where he spent the next ten years.
It could be that court life became too difficult or simply that greater opportunities were available for his children in North America. While he continued to ship paintings for sale back to Europe, he and his family remained in North America.
In Montreal, Jacobi painted landscapes, taught privately and worked for
Notman and Fraser. Unlike the domestic landscape of farms and villages seen in the work of
Cornelius Krieghoff
Cornelius David Krieghoff (June 19, 1815 – March 5, 1872) was a Dutch-born Canadian-American painter of the 19th century. Krieghoff is most famous for his paintings of Canadian landscapes and Canadian life outdoors, which were as sought ...
or the depiction of aboriginal settlements and activities by
Paul Kane
Paul Kane (September 3, 1810 – February 20, 1871) was an Irish-born Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the Columbia Dis ...
, Jacobi painted waterfalls and forests. His compositions portray the wilderness as a romantic and heroic place, glowing with an inner light.
Jacobi's production was considerable over his lifetime.
He was a skilled painter who knew his target market well and supported himself primarily through the sale of his work. His earlier North American work was often of specific locations, noted beauty spots that would be recognizable to his viewers. He took pains to ensure that they were accurate by utilizing source photographs of the places as he worked in his studio. His later work was more idealized and less specific, resting on the appeal inherent in the depictions of waterfalls and autumn foliage.
He was not the only artist drawn from Europe to the new opportunities found as North American cities began to build their own cultural institutions.
William Raphael
William Raphael (August 22, 1833 – March 15, 1914), born Israel Rafalsky (), was a Prussian-born Canadian painter, best known for his lively genre scenes of the Montreal harbour and market life. He was the first Jewish professional artist to ...
and Adolphe Vogt were also working in Montreal at that time. These three artists all portrayed the Canadian landscape, foreshadowing in some ways the work of the
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...
. Their paintings may have influenced the formation of the Canadian 'luminist' school which included
Lucius O'Brien.
From Montreal, Jacobi moved to Philadelphia then later to Toronto, after being invited to join the
Ontario Society of Artists
The Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) was founded in 1872. It is Canada's oldest continuously operating professional art society. When it was founded at the home of John Arthur Fraser, seven artists were present. Besides Fraser himself, Marmaduke M ...
in 1876.
He remained active in all three cities, dividing his time between them for the next fifteen years.
For a short time Jacobi was a teacher at the
Ontario College of Art and Design
Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...
, the largest and oldest university for art and design in Canada. His works were presented at the annual
Art Association of Montreal
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...
(starting in 1880) and the
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History 1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...
, which he became president of in 1890. He died in
Ardoch, North Dakota
Ardoch is a city in Walsh County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 31 at the 2020 census. Ardoch, named for the community of Ardoch, Ontario, was founded in 1881.
Geography
Ardoch is located at (48.205505, -97.340060).
Accordi ...
.
Selected illustrations
* In: Reinick, Robert. ''Lieder eines Malers mit Randzeichnungen seiner Freunde.'' – between 1836 and 1852.
** ''Lieder eines Malers mit Randzeichnungen seiner Freunde.'' – Düsseldorf: Schulgen-Bettendorff, 1838
Digital copyfrom
University of Düsseldorf
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
** ''Lieder eines Malers mit Randzeichnungen seiner Freunde.'' – Düsseldorf: Schulgen-Bettendorff, 1838
Digital copyfrom
University of Düsseldorf
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
** ''Lieder eines Malers mit Randzeichnungen seiner Freunde.'' – Düsseldorf : Buddeus, between 1839 and 1846
Digital copyfrom
University of Düsseldorf
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
** ''Lieder eines Malers mit Randzeichnungen seiner Freunde.'' – Leipzig : Vogel, ca. 1852
Digital copyfrom
University of Düsseldorf
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
Honours
*
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History 1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...
, 1880
See also
*
List of German Canadians
This is a list of notable German Canadians.
Academics
* Heribert Adam – political sociologist with a focus on ethnonationalism, born in Germany
* Hans Heilbronn – mathematician born in Berlin
* Fritz Heichelheim – German Jewish historian ...
References
External links
Otto Reinhold Jacobiat the
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Franziska Jacobi fondsat the
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...
, Ottawa, Ontario
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobi, Otto Reinhold
1812 births
1901 deaths
19th-century German painters
19th-century German male artists
German male painters
19th-century Canadian painters
Canadian male painters
Artists from Montreal
Artists from Königsberg
German emigrants to Canada
OCAD University faculty
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf alumni
19th-century Canadian male artists
Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Düsseldorf school of painting
Canadian landscape painters
German landscape painters