Louis-Aimé Grosclaude (26 September 1784,

Le Locle Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...

- 11 December 1869,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a Swiss painter who began as a portrait painter, then specialized in

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

and historical scenes. Kontol

Biography

Louis-Aimé Grosclaude served as an apprenticeship with his father, Abraham-Louis Grosclaude, an engraver and

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

, but practiced drawing in his spare time. From 1803 to 1805, he trained in Geneva with a Dutch painter, whose name has not been recorded. He then spent two years in Paris, where he studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

and took a position in the studios of

Jean-Baptiste Regnault Jean-Baptiste Regnault (; 9 October 1754 – 12 November 1829) was a French painter. Biography Regnault was born in Paris, and began life at sea in a merchant vessel. At the age of fifteen his talent attracted attention, and he was sent to ...

, who encouraged him to compete in the

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 ...

. Illness from overwork prevented him from doing so, however, and he found it necessary to seek treatment at home twice during those years. Upon returning to Geneva, he set up as a portrait painter and gained a considerable reputation as such, but decided that he preferred to paint genre scenes. In 1824, he married the painter, Jeanne Pernette Jourdan. In 1831, they had a son, Louis-Frédéric, who became a portrait painter. Being financially independent, he did not exhibit at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

until 1827. After moving to Paris, in 1835, he obtained a third-class medal there, then a second-class medal in 1838 and, finally, a first-class medal in 1845. After that point, he turned from genre painting to religious and historical subjects. During these years, he divided his time between Paris and

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

, where he once again painted some portraits. He also took students, including Fritz Zuber-Buhler and François Bocion, and was his son's first teacher. Baron

James Mayer de Rothschild Baron James Mayer de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 May 1792 – 15 November 1868) was a French banker and the founder of the French branch of the prominent Rothschild family. He was born in the Holy Roman Empire. Early life He ...

commissioned several works from him. He had many admirers in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, including King

Frederick William III Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved. ...

, and he was named an honorary member of the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

in 1826. His son completed some paintings that he was unable to finish, due to illness. His reputation diminished rapidly after his death.

Sources

*
Biographical notes
@ the

Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' (Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse; DHS) is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland. It aims to present the history of Switzerland in the form of an encyclopaedia, published both on paper a ...

* Émile Bellier de La Chavignerie,

Louis Auvray Louis Auvray (; 7 April 1810 in Valenciennes – 27 April 1890 in Paris) was a French sculptor and art critic. He was the pupil of David d'Angers and was the brother of Félix Auvray, a painter. He continued the ''Dictionnaire Général des Arti ...

, ''Dictionnaire général des artistes de l'École française depuis l'origine des arts du dessin jusqu'à nos jours : architectes, peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs et lithographes'', Vol.1, Librairie Renouard, Paris, 188
Gallica
* Pascal Ruedin, ''Beaux-arts et représentation Nationale: La participation des artistes suisses aux expositions universelles de Paris (1855-1900)'', p. 95, 130, Peter Lang S.A. Éditions suisses internationales, Berne, 2010
Google Books

External links

More works by Grosclaude
@ the Base Joconde
More works by Grosclaude
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Grosclaude, Louis-Aime 1784 births 1869 deaths Swiss genre painters Swiss portrait painters History painters Swiss emigrants to France People from Le Locle People from the Principality of Neuchâtel