Jean-Jacques Scherrer (1855–1916) was a Frenchacademic painter. Now largely forgotten, his historical paintings earned him considerable attention in his day.[1]
Born inLutterbach inAlsace, Scherrer was brought up by his uncle following the death of his father when he was only 6 years old. After leaving school, he worked at the Haeffley factory inPfastatt where his talent for drawing was noticed by one of the directors. In 1871, after theTreaty of Frankfurt he chose French nationality and moved to Paris where he was taught byPierre-Jules Cavelier in the studio ofFélix-Joseph Barrias. Barrias encouraged him to continue his studies at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts where he came under the guidance ofAlexandre Cabanel, whose academic style he closely followed.[1]
Although Scherrer began to exhibit in 1877, it was hisRésurrection du fils de la veuve de Naïm at theSalon de l'Académie de Peinture which established his reputation. In 1881, his painting L'Assassinat du maréchal Brune was received with particular success, earning him a stipendium which allowed him to spend two years in Italy. On his return to Paris in 1883, he paintedBeaurepaire, la capitulation de Verdun, le 2 septembre 1792. He went on to receive awards for L'Entrée de Jeanne d'Arc à Orléans, victorieuse des Anglais (1887) andIsabeau de Bavière (1889), exhibited the same year at theExposition Universelle, andCharlotte Corday à Caen (1892). At the end of the century, after decorating the SEITA pavilion for theExposition Universelle (1900), he was made a knight of theLegion of Honour.[1]
In addition to his academic works which were painted with almost photographic precision, Scherrer also painted nudes and copied the works ofRaphaël in Italy and those of other masters exhibited in theLouvre. He also painted landscapes of northern France, the Netherlands and Italy, andgenre paintings includingJoueurs de dames. Other important works areRachel déclamant la tragédie de Phèdre, devant Alfred de Musset andL'Heure du lait en Haute Alsace. He also painted animals (Chevaux à l'abri) and portraits (Gaston Roullet).
For a period of 32 years, Scherrer exhibited his works in Paris, Barcelona, Chicago and Tunis. Today they can be seen in France, Canada and the United States. Following his death in Paris in May 1916, there was an exhibition of his work in 1920. In 2006, a large exhibition of his work was held in his nativeLutterbach.[2]
Although Scherrer is not well known today, eclipsed as he is by contemporary impressionists, he was well received in the early 20th century. A commentator for theJournal d'Alsace wrote: "Scherrer's is characterized by constant attention to form and composition. A powerfulcolourist, with the gift of a fruitful imagination, our famous countryman is one of the most highly esteemed artists of our times."[3]
In 1880, Scherrer married Mathilde Haquette, a porcelain decorator at theSèvres factory. They had two children: Jean who died at sea when he was 18, and Lucie-Marthe (1884–1979) who was very close to her father.
This article also draws on theFrench Wikipedia article.
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