Joseph Werner (22 June 1637 – 21 September 1710), known as the Younger to distinguish him from his painter father of the same name, 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 ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, known for miniatures. Joseph Werner the Younger became an artist of international repute. He continued his studies in Frankfurt, went to Rome to paint and travelled to France where, at the court of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

he painted portraits of both the monarch himself and of various notables in his entourage; he also worked on the decorations of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. In 1667, he left France but continued to move in exalted circles. In Augsburg he worked for the Bavarian Elector in Vienna, painting a portrait of Leopold I, and was then invited to Berlin by the Prussian King Frederik. He earned a reputation as a miniatures painter at the court of the Saxon King in Dresden. In Berlin, he was appointed Director of the newly established

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 ...

. He passed his artistic talents on to his sons; his younger son Francis Paul becoming a painter of birds and his first born, Joseph Christopher Werner, becoming a court painter. In 1764, Joseph Christopher Werner made sketches of the royal insignia during the coronation of the last Polish king,

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

. Werner's drawings are in the Royal Castle and Cabinet of Engravings at the University Library of Warsaw.

Work

(small selection) *Therese Kunigunde von Polen als Diana *Zwei Bachantinnen *Ludwig XIV in Volkstracht *Mlle. de la Valliere in Volkstracht *"Allegorie zur Vermählung" *Perseus bei den Nymphen

External links

References

17th-century Swiss painters Swiss male painters 18th-century Swiss painters 18th-century Swiss male artists 1637 births 1710 deaths {{Switzerland-painter-stub