100 YEAR JOHANN JAKOB SCHNEIDER 12 PRINT WATERCOLORS 1822-1889 BASEL SWITZERLAND

Description: JOHANN JAKOB SCHNEIDER (Schweiz, 1822-1889) Basel, Sporengasse/Eisengasse, 1860. Johann Jakob Schneider 1822 - 1889. Home town is Basel Switzerland. Water color artist known primarily for his detailed sketches of Basel as it existed centuries ago. These prints are reproductions of his original art and the are stunningly beautiful. The Detail is exquisite and the colors bring back to life a town from long ago and far away. There are 12 Prints in all. Measurements are as shown in the pictures. The prints are loose and in the original packaging. Each print is in its own frame. So it rests inside the frame. All fit neatly inside the folio. Everything appears to be in German and I cannot tell where or when they were printed, but I'm guessing in the 1950's. You will Love these prints if they speak to you of your heritage or of you just appreciate fine art. Each print is about 12” by 21” in size. The two pages of text translated by google translate say the following (Note I only translated a few columns of the first page): A late Biedermeier painter Basel has a long and obligatory tradition of city views. The few names, such as Matthäus Merian in the 17th century, Emanuel Büchel in the 18th century and the many artists of the 19th century, such as Constantin Guise, Marquard Wocher, Peter Birmann and others, are represented with works from city prospectuses and paintings that come before our eyes again and again through reproductions. These are works of art of their own character, which have made the city known far and wide and through many times. Is it because of the beauty of Basel or because of the art tradition of famous masters? Both are likely to be the case. The wonderful location and the magnificent building culture on the one hand and the artistic tradition here in Basel complement each other in many different ways. Johann Schneider, who lived from 1822-1889, can be considered one of the last representatives of these city painters. Before there was a breakthrough into a new world of images, such as that brought about by photography, he tried again as a nature painter to put the impressions on paper in a manual way. In the years 1860-80 it was about who could capture the more valid impression of nature. It was useless competition on the part of painting, for the artless copying of nature, as is possible with the photographer's apparatus, can never do justice to the artist with the brush. In order to fulfill his task, he has to translate what he sees into colors and forms through the human experience associated with it. Rather, it is the case that an intensive exchange between painting and photography took place at that time, which would have to be examined from the point of view of art history. To the degree that objective fidelity became the ultimate goal of a representation, art had to go its own way. Schneider stopped on this path. He has but instead practiced a more timeless preservation of monuments by capturing many views of a changing city that we would never have received from the few photographs. From this point of view the extensive work of our painter gains a special meaning. Even if art history denies him a personal style and therefore rarely mentions him in the context of scientific studies, he still fulfills a task within the art history of the 19th century. He inherited a good dose of love of his homeland from Romanticism, neat domesticity from the Biedermeier style and a trace of architectural clarity from Classicism. He is almost the personification of a broad development of artistic activity of the common man, what we today call a hobby. It was good manners to be able to handle a pencil and brush, beyond any academic ties. Art for home use as a reminder and for the joy of fellow human beings. A distinction can be made between Schneider's: sketchbooks, which he usually filled with pencil drawings in the open air to the last page space; Watercolors, which were carefully colored at home based on these drafts, and photolithographies, which he colored by hand and sold. His life takes place within the framework of an amateurish lover of the fine arts, without claiming the idiosyncrasies of creative personalities. The parents had come to the Rhine town from Diegten, where Johann Jakob was born as the third child on February 20, 1822. Early on he found his calling to be a painter. First he was able to develop his talent as a designer in a ribbon factory. He learned drawing and watercolor painting from the painter Jakob Miville (1786-1836). From 1870 he was self-employed, having opened a wallpaper shop in Rebgasse. Now he could devote more of his time to his favorite pastime. It is characteristic of his style of painting that he always chose a clear blue sky with fair weather clouds and that the trees and patches of grass were evergreen. This idealizing attitude springs entirely from his character. On the other hand, it must be conceded that he faithfully adhered to the subjects recorded, because he consciously wanted to do documentary work. That is why his sheets are so valuable for the original inventory of old Basel. The growing city In a comparison between then and now, based on J. J. Schneider's sketchbooks and watercolored sheets, we recognize the violent and incessant changes that Basel has undergone in around a hundred years. For us, this retrospective, which is based exclusively on visually perceptible aspects of the city, becomes a symbol of cultural-historical developments. We forget all too easily that Schneider, out of a conscious hunch, wanted to capture the city of the time: he witnessed the demolition of the city wall, the widening of the streets and the erection of new, larger buildings. The town remained true to its medieval character until around 1850, which also corresponded to the strongly conservative tendencies of the population. Due to the immovable geographic situation at the traffic-technically important intersection between the sea and the crossing of the Alps, trade and industry experienced an unexpected upswing in the 19th century. The number of inhabitants increased by more than half in twenty years alone (1850-27000, 1870=44000), so that the living conditions for immigration were no longer sufficient. The railway found its way into the district, first with the inauguration of the French railway station in 1845. The reorganization of the building industry took place in 1859 by decision of the council. The area in front of the wall, which was extended in the 17th century, was developed for the superstructure. Only three gates remained after the demolitions in the decades after the middle of the 19th century: the Spalentor, the St. Johanntor and the St. Albantor. Instead of ramparts and ditches, green areas had found their place. One will also not want to ignore the changes that have become necessary for hygienic reasons, such as the covering of the Birsigbach. A new street arose from the rear facades, Falknerstrasse. The Freie Strasse and the Eisengasse, for example, were significantly expanded. All of this was enough for the Sunday painter, who was gifted in drawing, to capture the old Basel with his pen, especially as he was a patriot who was attached to what was once architecturally natural and was rather alien to the new. The prints are all in excellent shape with only a few minor bumps on the frames they are in. The folio cover has more markings and minor issues but it has done its job well by protecting the contents!

Price: 99.99 USD

Location: Bath, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-12-10T19:36:06.000Z

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