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Johann Gottfried Steffan (December 13, 1815 – June 16, 1905) was a Swiss landscape artist,Franz Zelger. Steffan, Johann Gottfried. ''
Johann Gottfried Steffan (December 13, 1815 – June 16, 1905) was a Swiss landscape artist,Franz Zelger. Steffan, Johann Gottfried. ''Grove Art Online
''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
'' (Oxford University Press; 2003) regarded as one of the most important Swiss landscapist
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...
s of the 19th century.
Steffan was born in Wädenswil
Wädenswil, locally often called ''Wädi'' or ''Wädischwil,'' is a municipality located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The population, , was about 21,000. On 1 January 2019 the former municipalities of Hü ...
, Switzerland in 1815. After his apprenticeship as a lithographer
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone ( lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...
in his home town, Steffan travelled to Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
in 1833, where he attended the Academy of Fine Arts
The following is a list of notable art schools.
Accredited non-profit art and design colleges
* Adelaide Central School of Art
* Alberta College of Art and Design
* Art Academy of Cincinnati
* Art Center College of Design
* The Art Institute ...
under Peter von Cornelius
Peter von Cornelius (23 September 1783, Düsseldorf – 6 March 1867, Berlin) was a German painter; one of the main representatives of the Nazarene movement.
Life
Early years
Cornelius was born in Düsseldorf. From the age of twelve he atte ...
. Under the influence of Carl Rottmann
Carl Anton Joseph Rottmann (11 January 1797, in Handschuhsheim – 7 July 1850, in Munich) was a German landscape painter and the most famous member of the Rottmann family of painters.
Rottmann belonged to the circle of artists around King Lud ...
, he turned to realistic landscape art
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although de ...
. Steffan's studio became the center for Swiss artists in Munich, including Rudolf Koller, Johann Caspar Bosshardt and Arnold Böcklin
Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss symbolist painter.
Biography
He was born in Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin (b. 1802), was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk trad ...
, although he was also associated with artists from Germany. His pupils include Traugott Schiess (1834–69) and Otto Frölicher
Otto Viktor Frölicher (5 June 1840 in Solothurn – 2 November 1890 in Munich) was a Swiss landscape painter.
Life
His father worked for the local government. In 1859, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, and became a student of la ...
.
He made several study trips to the Swiss Alps
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps (german: Schweizer Alpen, french: Alpes suisses, it, Alpi svizzere, rm, Alps svizras), represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Sw ...
, especially to the Canton of Glarus
The canton of Glarus (german: Kanton Glarus rm, Chantun Glaruna; french: Canton de Glaris; it, Canton Glarona) is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.
The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.
The majority ...
and to Lake Walen
The Walensee, also known as ''Lake Walen'' or ''Lake Walenstadt'' from Walenstadt, is one of the larger lakes in Switzerland, with about two thirds of its area in the Canton of St. Gallen and about one third in the Canton of Glarus. Other towns ...
. Later, he often went to Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; th ...
and to Ramsau where he found many of his motifs. Steffan's paintings mostly are idealistic
In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to id ...
landscapes of the Munich School
Munich School ( el, Σχολή του Μονάχου) is the name given to a group of painters who worked in Munich or were trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Munich (german: Münchner Akademie der Bildenden Künste) between 1850 and 19 ...
and often show mountain motifs. Koller compared his style to Alexandre Calame
Alexandre Calame (28 May 1810 – 19 March 1864) was a Swiss landscape painter, associated with the Düsseldorf School.
Biography
He was born in Arabie at the time belonging to Corsier-sur-Vevey, today a part of Vevey. He was the son of a skillf ...
. Franz Zelger, in his entry in ''Grove Art Online'', describes him as an "outstanding and sensitive observer of nature" although notes "his manner was often slick and conventional".
His son Arnold Steffan (1848–82) was also a landscape artist.Steffan, Johann Gottfried. ''Benezit Dictionary of Artists
The ''Benezit Dictionary of Artists'' (in French, ''Bénézit: Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs'') is an extensive publication of bibliographical information on painters, sculptors, designers and engravers creat ...
'' (Oxford University Press; 2011) Johann Gottfried Steffan died on June 16, 1905 in Munich.
Main works
*''Mittag in den Glarner Alpen, Bergbach'' ("Noon in the Alps of Glarus, Mountain Stream", 1857), House of Art, Aarau *''Der Mont d'Orge bei Sitten'' ("Mont d'Orge by Sitten", 1869), Museum of Art,Luzern
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital ...
*''Landscape Study at Lake Starnberg'' (1872), Zurich, Ksthaus
*''Alp im Klöntal'' ("Alp in the Kloen Valley", 1880), House of Art, Glarus
, neighboring_municipalities= Glarus Nord, Glarus Süd, Muotathal (SZ), Innerthal (SZ)
, twintowns= Wiesbaden-Biebrich (Germany)
}
Glarus (; gsw, Glaris; french: Glaris; it, Glarona; rm, Glaruna) is the capital of the canton of Glarus i ...
*''Bergsee bei heranziehendem Gewitter'' ("Mountain Lake at a Gathering Thunderstorm", 1886), House of Art, Zurich
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steffan, Johann Gottfried 19th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 20th-century Swiss painters Swiss landscape painters Realist painters 1815 births 1905 deaths Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni People from Wädenswil 19th-century Swiss male artists 20th-century Swiss male artists