Frederick Vezin also Fred or Frederik (14 August 1859,

Torresdale, Philadelphia Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township in neighboring ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

,Charles Joseph Cohen: ''Memoir of Rev. John Wiley Faires, A. M., D. D., Founder and Principal of the Classical Institute, Philadelphia. A Teacher from 1831 to 1888, with Photographs and Biographic Sketches of Upward of Five Hundred of His Former Pupils'' 1926, p. 781 ff. - 26 December 1933,

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

) was an American-born German painter, engraver and lithographer.

Biography

Vezin was born on August 14, 1859, in Torresdale, Philadelphia. He was the son of Charles Vezin and Caroline Vezin, née Kalisky. His family originally came from

Saint-Florentin, Yonne Saint-Florentin () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It lies at the confluence of the rivers Armançon and Armance (river), Armance, and on the Cana ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. According to Richard Böger, Pierre Vezin (1654–1727) was forced to flee after he gave assistance to the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

, even though he was a Catholic. He settled down in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

as a viola player. For two generations, the Vezin family lived in

and

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

. In 1813, Charles Henri/Carl Heinrich Vezin (1782–1853), Fredericks grandfather, emigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. The family produced several creative artists in addition to Frederick, including his uncle, the actor

Hermann Vezin Hermann Vezin (March 2, 1829 – June 12, 1910) was an American actor, teacher of elocution and writer. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania. Life and work Vezin was born in Philadelphia, Pe ...

, and his brother, Charles Vezin (1858–1942), also a painter. During his childhood and youth, Vezin frequently travelled between Germany and the USA. He attended a school in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and from 1868 to 1871 he attended the Classical Institute in Philadelphia. In 1876, Frederick decided to return to Germany to study art at the

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Blinky Palermo, Ma ...

, where he studied landscape painting with Georg Heinrich Crola. Later, he studied history painting with Peter Janssen and the Nazarene artist, Karl Müller. He remained at the Academy until 1883; working with

Julius Roeting Julius Amatus Roeting (13 September 1822, in Dresden – 21 May 1896, in Düsseldorf) was an Austrian painter. Biography He displayed artistic talent while still very young and, at the age of twelve, helped create a painting of a lion on a l ...

Eduard von Gebhardt Franz Karl Eduard von Gebhardt (13 June 1838 – 3 February 1925) was a Baltic German painter of portraits and historical scenes, and a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Biography He was born to Ferdinand Theodor von Gebhardt (1803� ...

and

Wilhelm Sohn Johann August Wilhelm Sohn (29 August 1829, in Berlin – 16 March 1899, in Pützchen, near Bonn) was a German genre painter and art professor. Life Johann August Wilhelm Sohn was born 29 August 1829, in Berlin, Germany. In 1847, he went to ...

. After a stay in Munich, he lived in Düsseldorf from 1895 until his death. He concentrated on landscapes and

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 ...

scenes, mostly depicting high society, although he was also known for portraits. Thanks to the influence of his uncle, Hermann, he was known in England and the United States as well. He had a major showing at the

Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

in 1893. Stylistically, he combines elements of the

Düsseldorf School Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düssel, ...

and

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

Selected paintings

File:Frederick Vezin Junge Frau mit fliederfarbenem Tuch.jpg, Young Woman in a Lilac Shawl File:Frederick Vezin At the ball.jpg, At the Ball File:Frederick Vezin Summer Day on the Beach.jpg, Summer Day on the Beach File:Frederick Vezin Badenixe im Waldbach.jpg, Bather in a Forest Stream

References

Sources

* *

Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf The Kunstpalast, formerly Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf is an art museum in Düsseldorf. History The roots of the museum go back around 300 years. In 1932, the collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Academy of Art) was housed in the Kunstmu ...

and

Galerie Paffrath The Galerie Paffrath is an art gallery in Düsseldorf, Germany, specialising in paintings of the 19th century. Profile Galerie Paffrath specialises in 19th-century paintings, in particular works by painters of the Düsseldorf school of painting, ...

: ''Lexikon der Düsseldorfer Malerschule''. Vol.3, Bruckmann, Munich 1998 * Hermann Vezin: from ''In the days of my Youth. Containing the Autobiographies of Thirty-Four well-known Men and Women of today''. Introduction by T. O'Connor. C. Arthur Pearson, London 1901
Online
* Friedrich von Boetticher: ''Malwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts''. II. Band, 2. Hälfte. 1901

External links

ArtNet: More works by Vezin.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vezin, Frederick 1859 births 1933 deaths 19th-century German painters 19th-century German male artists German male painters 20th-century German painters 20th-century German male artists German modern painters German genre painters Immigrants to the Kingdom of Prussia Painters from Philadelphia American emigrants German artists