Scheffer, Ary

PAINTER (THE NETHERLANDS)
BORN 12 Feb 1795, Dordrecht, Zuid-Holland - DIED 15 Jun 1858, Argenteuil, Val-d'Oise
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière de Montmartre, 20 Avenue Rachel (division 22)

Ary Scheffer was the son of Johan Bernard Scheffer (1765-1809), a portrait painter who became court painter to Louis Bonaparte in Amsterdam in 1808 but died in 1809. After his father's death he was taken to Paris by his mother Cornelia Lamme (1769-1839), a daughter of the landscape painter Arie Lamme and a miniature painter herself. In Paris he studied under Pierre-Narcisse Guérin and worked in his studio. In 1812 he started exhibiting the the Salon in Paris.

His reputation had grown by 1817 and in 1819 he was asked to portray Gilbert, Marquis de Lafayette. He was an active Philhellene. In 1822 he became the drawing teacher of the children of Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans. When the regime of Charles X was overthrown he and Adolphe Thiers rode from Paris to Orléans to ask Louis Philippe to lead the resitance and Louis Philippe became the new king of France a few days later.

Scheffer didn't like the great romantic painters of his day (like Delacroix and Géricault) and soon developed a style of his own. He depicted the works of Goethe and Byron and then turned to religious subjects. After 1846 he ceased to exhibit his works, but in his studio he continued to work.

He received the Légion d'honneur in 1848 and in 1850 he married the widow of General Baudrand (born Françoise Louise Sophie Lauzun-Marin, 1805-1856). In the same year he became a French citizen. He suffered from heart problems and died in 1858 at his summer house in Argenteuil, two years after the death of his wife. After Scheffer's death many unknown works were found in his studio and exhibited posthumously at Argentueil. Among them were "Sorrows of the Earth" and the nfinished "Angel Announcing the Resurrection". This damaged his reputation that detoriated further after the sale of the Paturle Gallery that had held many of his best works.

Family
• Daughter: Scheffer, Cornelia

Related persons
• was teacher of Bartholdi, Auguste
• painted Chopin, Frédéric
• was a friend of Cogniet, Léon
• painted Liszt, Franz
• was teacher of Perugini, Charles Edward
• was teacher of Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre
• was sculpted by Scheffer, Cornelia
• was teacher of Verlat, Karel
• was a friend of Viardot, Louis
• painted Viardot-Garcia, Pauline
• was a friend of Viardot-Garcia, Pauline

Events
16/7/1854Franz Liszt meets Ary Scheffer in Scheveningen and dines with Prince Hendrik and Princess Amalia in the Hague. Scheffer was staying with his daughter for a few days and Liszt attended a festival in Rotterdam. They knew each other from Paris and Scheffer had painted him in 1837. After the visit Liszt dined wih Prince Hendrik and Princess Amalia in The Hague. Amalia came from Weimar and Liszt knew her well. [Liszt, Franz]
17/7/1854Franz Liszt views the art collection of J.A. Nottebohm in the company of the art dealer Ary Johannes Lamme. Nottebohm lived on the estate De Heuvel next to the festival that Liszt had attended in Rotterdam. Liszt saw Ary Schefffer's painting "Faust and Marguerite in the Garden". In the evening Nottebohm organised a party for 400 guests. It was 1 AM in the morning before Liszt and Anton Rubinstein left for Antwerp by ship. [Liszt, Franz]
16/7/1857Franz Liszt meets Ary Scheffer in Scheveningen. Liszt was in the Netherlands for a festival and Scheffer was staying with his brother in Scheveningen near The Hague. In 1837 Scheffer had painted Liszt in Paris. They walked along the sea and talked about politics, literature, music and painting. [Liszt, Franz]

Images

The grave of Ary Scheffer at Montmartre Cimetière, Paris.
Picture by Androom (19 May 2005)

 

The grave of Ary Scheffer at the Cimetière Montmartre, Paris.
Picture by Androom (20 Feb 2016)

 

"Mignon regrettant sa Patrie".
(Dordrecht: Dordrechts Museum)
 

"Ary Scheffer at work in the grand studio at his house at the Rue Chaptal 16 in Paris".
   (1851, Dordrecht: Dordrechts Museum)
 

"Portrait de madame Victor Place" (detail).
   (1852, Dordrecht: Dordrechts Museum)
 

"Portrait of Frédéric Chopin".
   (c1847, Dordrecht: Dordrechts Museum)
 

Sources
https://lisztkring.nl/index_html_files/Liszt_Tijdschrift_13.pdf
https://www.lisztkring.nl/index_html_files/Liszt_Tijdschrift_13.pdf


Scheffer, Cornelia

Published: 01 Jan 2006
Last update: 11 Dec 2022