Jeremiah Theus ( Theüs; April 5, 1716 – May 17, 1774) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

-born American painter, primarily of

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s. He was active mainly around

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, in which city he remained almost without competition for the bulk of his career.Biography at the Worcester Museum of Art
/ref>

Life

Early life and career

Jeremiah Theüs was born in the city of

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, the eldest child of Simeon and Anna Walser Theüs. He was nineteen when he immigrated with his family to the

Province of South Carolina The Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of the Kingdom of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies i ...

, whose

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

had provided land grants and transport funds to encourage European

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s to settle in the colony. Simeon Theüs was given of land along the Edisto River in what was then Orangeburgh Township, today Orangeburg County. By 1740, the younger Theus was in Charleston, advertising in the ''

South Carolina Gazette The ''South Carolina Gazette'' (1732–1775) was South Carolina's first successful newspaper. The paper began in 1732 under Thomas Whitmarsh in Charlestown (now Charleston), but within two years Whitmarsh died of yellow fever. In 1734 ano ...

'':

Notice is hereby given, that Jeremiah Theus Limner is remov’d into the Market Square near Mr. John Laurans Sadler, where all Gentlemen and Ladies may have their Pictures drawn, likewise Landskips of all Sizes, Crests, and Coats of Arms for Coaches or Chaises. Likewise for the Conveniency of those who live in the Country, he is willing to wait on them at their respective Plantations.''South-Carolina Gazette'', August 30 – September 6, 1740.

He established his studio in a central location, the northeast corner of Broad and Meeting Streets. Just what degree of training he received is unknown; given that opportunities to study art were limited in Charleston at the time, however, it seems likely that he had received some training while he was still in Switzerland. Theus was twenty-eight in 1744, yet he already felt confident enough in his abilities to open an evening drawing school in his home.''South-Carolina Gazette'', October 22, 1744; it ran again on October 29 and November 5, 1744. Portrait of Suzanna Moore Smyth

Theus took on a variety of commissions during his early career, including painting and guilding the

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in 1756, a job for which the congregation's commissioners paid him 77 pounds and 10 shillings for his labor and supplies. He also painted the

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

, and contributed 50 pounds towards the building fund for a new structure; he later owned a pew in the church.

Later years

Theus was able to build a highly successful practice for himself in the three decades he spent in Charleston; this was due largely to the fact that for much of that time he was the only painter in town with any significant reputation. Perhaps his greatest competition came from English-born and -trained John Wollaston, who visited the city in 1765 and remained for about two years before returning to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It seems likely that the latter painter influenced Theus to some extent; among the

decorative Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes them pleasure, pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, art and taste are the main subjects of aesthetics, one of the fie ...

touches he preferred for his work were dresses trimmed with ermine, for his female sitters, and a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

tabletop, both of which began appearing in portraits by Theus at about the time Wollaston was in Charleston. The very end of his career also saw the rise to popularity of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-born

Henry Benbridge Henry Benbridge (October 1743 – February 1812) was an early American portrait painter. Early life and education He was born in Philadelphia, the only child of James and Mary (Clark) Benbridge. When he was seven years old, his mother, who ...

, who had received training in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and had migrated to South Carolina not long after his return home; he would soon replace Theus as the most popular painter in the city.Saunders, Richard H. and Ellen G. Miles. ''American Colonial Portraits · 1700–1776''. Washington, D.C.; Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987. Theus died in Charleston in 1774; his death was noted in at least three local papers, including '' The South-Carolina and American General Gazette'' and the ''

'', both of which referred to him in their

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

notices as both "ingenious" and "honest". His

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

is dated September 15, 1770, with a codicil added on March 14, 1774, and directs that his paintings, prints, paints, and books should be sold to provide support for his family. At the

estate sale An estate sale or estate liquidation is a sale or auction to dispose of a substantial portion of the materials owned by a person who is recently deceased or who must dispose of their personal property to facilitate a move. Reasons for an estate ...

, one Edward Oats purchased ""a great many PORTRAITS of Men, Women, and Children" with the intent of finding interested buyers for the set; whether or not he was able to sell the paintings off is unknown. The will reveals how successful Theus was in his chosen profession; besides holding nearly 3,000 pounds in cash, he owned a house in Charleston, of land in Orangeburg County, a town lot in Orangeburgh, and seven slaves. He had also, before his death, given 2,100 pounds to the children of his first marriage.

Personal life

Theus married twice during his time in Charleston. His first wife, whom he wed on January 13, 1741, was Cathrina Elizabeth Shaumlöffel, daughter of one John Shaumlöffel of Orangeburgh Township; she was just 17 at the time of the wedding. The couple would go on to have five children together. Cathrina died in 1754 while giving birth to the sixth, who died at birth. In the following year, Theus married again, this time to a widow named Eva Rosanna Hilt. The wedding likely took place around September, because in that month the artist purchased a brick house at the corner of Mazyck (today Logan) and Broad Streets in Charleston. The pair would have four children.

Work

Jeremiah Theus Portrait of Lady Liberty 1765

Theus typically confined himself to uncomplicated compositions, and the bulk of his portraits are bust-length works, approximately thirty by twenty-five inches at their largest; like many portraitists of the era, he also produced miniatures. Three larger-scale works by him exist. The first, a portrait of Elizabeth, wife of Peter Manigault, dates to 1757, and was meant to be the pendant to a portrait by

Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to: *Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet *Allan Ramsay (artist) Allan Ramsay (13 October 171310 August 1784) was a Scottish portrait Painting, painter. Life and career Ramsay w ...

. That Manigault was familiar with Theus' work may be seen by the letter he wrote to his mother, which accompanied the Ramsay portrait home in April 1751, in which he wrote that "I desire Mr Theus may see it, as soon as convenient after it arrives....I’ll be extremely obliged to you, if you’ll let me know his Judgement..."Peter Manigault, London, to Ann Ashby Manigault, Charleston, April 15, 1751, as quoted in Webber 1930, 277–78 The source of Mrs. Manigault's pose is unknown, but is believed to have been taken from an English

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzo ...

, as was common at the time. Only once more in his career did Theus work on such a scale, producing a pair of portraits, of Barnard Elliott, Jr. and his wife, around 1766. Elements of the portrait of Mrs. Elliott – including details of her costume, jewelry, and pose – have since been shown to have been taken from a number of contemporary English mezzotints. Theus frequently borrowed from English prints for his smaller works as well, and at least one historian has noted that many of his female sitters share identical poses and elements of costume, down to the folds and shadows in their dresses; each work is individualized with minor changes to various details. Male sitters in Theus portraits were typically offered a handful of poses to choose from, including the then-popular hand-in-

waistcoat A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit) or vest ( US and Canada) is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wea ...

gesture; sometimes the artist would include a hat, tucked under the sitter's arm, to provide variety. In other portraits, Theus preferred the shorter bust-length portrait type; in either case, the format chosen allowed him to avoid having to paint the subject's hands.Portraits of children allowed Theus greater variety in choosing the sitters' poses, and he exercised this freedom in a number of works. In some, he chose to use a

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

background, rather than the plain backdrop reserved for his adult subjects; others are allotted a variety of props, including a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

line and hook, an

acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

and a pet

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

, or a piece of fruit. About twenty portraits of children by the artist exist. Besides creating original work, Theus sometimes served as a

copyist A copyist is a person who makes duplications of the same thing. The modern use of the term is mainly confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript. However, the ...

for his clients, although few of his surviving works have been demonstrated to be copies. Among these are a copy of a portrait of Christiana Broughton by

Henrietta Johnston Henrietta de Beaulieu Dering Johnston (c. 1674 – March 9, 1729) was a pastelist of uncertain origin active in the Colonial history of the United States, English colonies in North America from approximately 1708 until her death. She is both the ...

and a copy of a work variously attributed to William Keable and John Wollaston. Two nearly identical portraits of a man, possibly Isaac Smith, are also known to be by Theus; they appear to be copies of a lost original. Although Theus made some attempt to individualize the faces of his sitters, they share so many characteristics as to be nearly indistinguishable. Hallmarks of his style include close-set eyes, long noses, full lips, and

dimple A dimple, also called a gelasin (, ), and a fovea buccalis, is a small natural indentation in the flesh on a part of the human body, most notably in the cheek. Numerous cultures believe that cheek dimples are a good luck charm that entices peop ...

d chins. There is some evidence that he attempted to work from life when painting his subjects' faces, adding details of costume later in his studio. Costume remains the dominant focus of most of his portraits; he took greater care in depicting the colorful details and trimming of clothing than in showing his sitters' faces. Theus did not confine himself to portraiture when it came to his art. His advertisement in the ''Gazette'' indicates that he was willing to paint

s and decorative work, including

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...

and family crests, in addition to human subjects. That he accepted the commission to paint and gild the steeple of St. Michael's Church suggests, furthermore, that he thought of himself at least in part as a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

. Today paintings by Theus can be found in a number of American museum collections, including

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

,Brooklyn Museum collection search

Worcester Art Museum The Worcester Art Museum houses over 38,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day and representing cultures from all over the world. The museum opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Its holdings include Roman mosaics, Europe ...

Gibbes Museum of Art The Gibbes Museum of Art, formerly known as the Gibbes Art Gallery, is an art museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the museum moved into a new Beaux Arts building at 135 Meeting Street, in t ...

, Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences,

Charleston Museum The Charleston Museum is a museum located in the Wraggborough neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1773, it is the oldest museum in the United States. Its collection includes historic artifacts, natural history, decorative ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

, and the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

Portrait gallery

File:Elias Ball, 1740, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Elias Ball'', 1740,

. File:Maurice Keating, 1753, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Maurice Keating,'' 1753,

. File:Elizabeth Prioleau Roupell.jpeg, ''Elizabeth Prioleau Roupell'', 1753,

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

. File:Jeremiah Theus - Captain William Richardson (1743-1786) - 1944.79 - Yale University Art Gallery.jpg, ''Captain William Richardson'', c. 1755-60,

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University. Although it embraces all cultures and period ...

. File:Colonel Daniel Horry by Jeremiah Theus, 1757.jpg, '' Col. Daniel Horry'', 1757, Columbus Museum. File:Mrs. Peter Manigault (Elizabeth Wragg).jpg, ''Mrs. Peter Manigault ( Elizabeth Wragg)'', 1757,

. File:Barnard Elliott, Jr. by Jeremiah Theus 1750.jpg, ''Barnard Elliott, Jr.'', 1750,

. File:Judith Elliot (Mrs. Francis Villepontoux) by Jeremiah Theus 1755.jpg, ''Judith Elliott (Mrs. Francis Villepontoux)'', 1755,

. File:Jeremiah Theüs - Dr. Lionel Chalmers - 47.1544 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, ''Dr. Lionel Chalmers'', 1756,

. File:Jeremiah Theüs - Mrs. Lionel Chalmers (Martha Logan) - 47.1545 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, ''Mrs. Lionel Chalmers (Martha Logan)'', 1756,

. File:William Elliott by Jeremiah Theus 1757.jpg, ''William Elliott'', 1757,

. File:Gabriel Manigault Jeremiah Theus.jpg, ''Gabriel Manigault'', 1757,

. File:Mrs Gabriel Manigault Jeremiah Theus.jpg, ''Mrs.

Gabriel Manigault Gabriel Manigault (March 17, 1758 – November 4, 1809) was an American architect. Early life Manigault was born in Charleston, South Carolina, Charles Town on March 17, 1758. He was the son of Elizabeth Wragg Manigault and Peter Manigault, the ...

(Ann Ashby)'', 1757,

. File:Mary Broughton (Mrs. Isaac Motte), 1758, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Mrs.

Isaac Motte Isaac Motte (December 8, 1738 – May 8, 1795) was an American soldier and statesman from Charleston, South Carolina. He served as a colonel in the Revolutionary War and represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress The Contin ...

(Mary Broughton''), 1758,

. File:Mrs. Charles Lowndes (Sarah Parker), 1758, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Mrs. Charles Lowndes (Sarah Parker),'' 1758,

. File:Charles Lowndes, ca. 1758, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Charles Lowndes'', 1758,

. File:Jeremiah Theus - Mary Trusler - 1988.80 - Dallas Museum of Art.jpg, ''Mary Trusler'', c. 1760,

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

. File:Catherine Elliott (Mrs. William Percy) by Jeremiah Theus 1760.jpg, ''Catherine Elliott (Mrs. William Percy)'', 1760,

. File:Jeremiah Theus - Polly Ouldfield of Winyah - 1969.130 - Smithsonian American Art Museum.jpg, ''Polly Ouldfield of Winyah'', c. 1761,

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

File:Jeremiah Theus - Portrait of Mrs. John Champneys (Anne Livingston, born 1746) - B.60.50 - Museum of Fine Arts.jpg, ''Mrs. John Champneys (Anne Livingston)'', c. 1763,

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...

. File:Hannah Dart Jeremiah Theus.jpg, ''Hannah Dart'', c.1765, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. File:James cuthbert.PNG, ''James Cuthbert'', c. 1765,

. File:Mary cuthbert.PNG, ''Mrs. James Cuthbert (Mary)'', c. 1765,

. File:Mrs. Martha Vinson, 1766, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Mrs. Martha Vinson,'' 1766,

. File:Mrs. James Skirving (Sarah Vinson), ca. 1766, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Mrs. James Skirving (Sarah Vinson)'', 1766,

. File:Captain James Skirving, Jr., 1766, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, ''Captain James Skirving Jr.,'' 1766,

. File:Dr. James Skirving, 1766, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art.jpg, Dr. James Skirving, 1766, Gibbes Museum of Art. File:Jeremiah Theus - Mrs. Barnard Elliott, Jr. (Mary Elizabeth Bellinger Elliott) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Mrs. Barnard Elliot, Jr. (Mary Elizabeth Bellinger Elliott)'', 1766,

. File:Jeremiah Theus - Colonel Barnard Elliott, Jr. - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Lt. Col. Barnard Elliott Jr.'', 1766,

. File:Mary Mazyck, 1770, Jeremiah Theus, Gibbes Museum of Art 04.jpg, ''Mary Mazyck'', 1770,

. File:Portrait of Mrs. Gardner Greene, 1770, Jeremiah Theus, Minneapolis Institute of Art.jpg, ''Mrs. Gardner Greene'', 1770,

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the List of largest art museums, largest ar ...

. File:Marcy Olney, 1771, Jeremiah Theus, Minneapolis Institute of Art.jpg, ''Marcy Olney'', 1771,

. File:Mrs. John Dart MET DP-645-01.jpg, ''Mrs. John Dart (Henrietta Sommers)'', ca. 1772-74,

. File:John Dart MET DP-644-01.jpg, ''John Dart'', ca. 1772-74,

. File:Mrs. Rawlins Lowndes (Sarah Jones).jpg, ''Mrs. Rawlins Lowndes (Sarah Jones)'', c. 1773,

North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It opened in 1956 as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding. Since the initial 1947 appropriation that ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theus, Jeremiah 1716 births 1774 deaths 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists American male painters People from colonial South Carolina American people of Swiss descent People from Chur People from Orangeburg County, South Carolina Painters from South Carolina Artists from Charleston, South Carolina Swiss emigrants Immigrants to the Thirteen Colonies