Joseph Louis Firmin Cerveau (commonly known as Firmin Cerveau; 1806 – March 24, 1896) was a 19th-century artist from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. His most notable work was a 49-inch-by-27-inch

panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

of the city of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, in 1837.

Early life

Cerveau was born in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, in 1806. His father, a Frenchman, was a merchant and raised his family in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. He was ordered to return to France by the government, but was advised against doing so by a third party, due to the French Revolution. As such, he sailed (in his own vessel, the ''Sultan'') across the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and continued across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the United States, arriving in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1821. The family settled in

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 ...

Career

His most noted work is his 1837 panorama of

, which is regarded as his "masterpiece." The original version is in the possession of the

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...

.Where is Fermin Cerveau Buried?
- Natchez City Cemetery, August 2003 His

papier-mâché file:JacmelMardiGras.jpg, upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti Papier-mâché ( , , - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground") is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is s ...

model of St Mary's Basilica was displayed in the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In 1973, Joseph Frederick Waring posthumously released '' Cerveau's Savannah'', which analyzed the buildings visible in the artist's panorama.

Personal life

By 1836, he was living in the United States. He married Mary O'Rourke, of New York, shortly after which they moved to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He opened a studio to teach drawing and miniature painting, as well as to sketch townscapes and landscapes. One of his efforts hung in the S.S. ''

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

'', the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. In 1843, Cerveau and his brother, Auguste Charles Alexandre, filed their naturalization papers in Savannah. Cerveau became a widower in 1887, at which point he moved to

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

, to live with his daughter Sophia and her family. The Cerveaus had two other children: John and Francis.

Death

Cerveau died in 1896, aged 90. He was interred in Natchez City Cemetery. His resting place was unmarked for 108 years; in 2004 it was marked with a tombstone saying "Savannah's Artist". Also in 2004, Cerveau's great-great-granddaughter, Jane Millette, portrayed him in the cemetery's annual Angels on the Bluff tour.2004 Angels on the Bluff tour
- Natchez City Cemetery

References

External links

A political banner by Cerveau
– Google Arts and Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Cerveau, Joseph 1806 births 1896 deaths People from İzmir Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United States 19th-century artists from the Ottoman Empire Artists from Georgia (U.S. state)