Jakob Emanuel Handmann
Encyclopedia
Jakob Emanuel Handmann (born August
16, 1718 in Basel
; died November
3, 1781 in Berne
) was a Swiss painter
specialised in portrait painting
. He was a contemporary of the Swiss painters Anton Graff
, Jean Preudhomme
, Angelica Kauffmann
, Johann Jakob Schalch
, Johann Caspar Füssli
and his son Johann Heinrich Füssli.
Jakob Emanuel Handmann was the 9th child of Johann Jakob Handmann, a baker and later bailiff
of Waldenburg, and his wife Anna Maria Rispach. Between 1735 and 1739 he made an apprenticeship as a stucco
plasterer
and studied painting in Schaffhausen
with the painter and stucco
plasterer
Johann Ulrich Schnetzler. He made study trips to Paris
, Rome
and Naples
. In Paris he workd at the studio of Jean Restout II who influenced his work. In 1742 Handmann travelled through France finding employment in a portrait studio partnership with the painter Hörling. In the business partnership with Hörling Handmann was mainly responsible for painting the heads of the sitters. In Italy
he worked among others in the studios of Marco Benefial
and Pierre Subleyras
in Rome. There he mainly copied masterpieces from the Classical Antiquity
and Renaissance
periods.
By June 1746 he was back in Switzerland. In 1747 he settled down in Basel
. In Basel he opened his own studio. However, many of his clients were patricians from the city and the area of Berne
. Thanks to the acquaintance of the Estonian
nobleman Colonel
Carl Friedrich von Staal, Handmann became a member of the “Accademia Clementina” of Bologna
in 1773. Apart from a trip to Germany
in 1753 he never again left his native country.
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days.This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first...
16, 1718 in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
; died November
November
November is the 11th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November was the ninth month of the ancient Roman calendar...
3, 1781 in Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
) was a Swiss painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
specialised in portrait painting
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
. He was a contemporary of the Swiss painters Anton Graff
Anton Graff
Anton Graff was an eminent Swiss portrait artist. Among his famous subjects were Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick the Great, Johann Gottfried Herder and Christian Felix Weisse...
, Jean Preudhomme
Jean Preudhomme
thumb|[[Franz Rudolf Frisching]] in the uniform of an officer of the [[Bernese]] Huntsmen Corps with his [[Berner Laufhund]], painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785...
, Angelica Kauffmann
Angelica Kauffmann
Maria Anna Angelika/Angelica Katharina Kauffman was a Swiss-Austrian Neoclassical painter. Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.- Early years :She was born at Chur in Graubünden, Switzerland,...
, Johann Jakob Schalch
Johann Jakob Schalch
Johann Jakob Schalch was a Swiss painter. He was a contemporary of the Swiss painters Anton Graff, Jean Preudhomme, Angelica Kauffmann, Jakob Emanuel Handmann, Johann Caspar Füssli. His son Johann Heinrich Füssli was also a noted painter.-History:Johann Jakob Schalch was born in Schaffhausen,...
, Johann Caspar Füssli
Johann Caspar Füssli
Johann Caspar Füssli was a Swiss portrait painter.He was born in Zurich to Hans Rudolf Füssli, who was also a painter, and Elisabeth Schärer....
and his son Johann Heinrich Füssli.
Life and Work
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
of Waldenburg, and his wife Anna Maria Rispach. Between 1735 and 1739 he made an apprenticeship as a stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
plasterer
Plasterer
A plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls...
and studied painting in Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....
with the painter and stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
plasterer
Plasterer
A plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls...
Johann Ulrich Schnetzler. He made study trips to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. In Paris he workd at the studio of Jean Restout II who influenced his work. In 1742 Handmann travelled through France finding employment in a portrait studio partnership with the painter Hörling. In the business partnership with Hörling Handmann was mainly responsible for painting the heads of the sitters. In Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
he worked among others in the studios of Marco Benefial
Marco Benefial
Marco Benefial was an Italian, proto-Neoclassical painter, mainly active in Rome. Benefial is best known for his repudiation of 18th century decorative Rococo styles pre-eminent in the Rome dominated by Carlo Maratta pupils....
and Pierre Subleyras
Pierre Subleyras
Pierre Subleyras was a French painter, active during the late-Baroque and early-Neoclassic period, mainly in Italy....
in Rome. There he mainly copied masterpieces from the Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
periods.
By June 1746 he was back in Switzerland. In 1747 he settled down in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. In Basel he opened his own studio. However, many of his clients were patricians from the city and the area of Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
. Thanks to the acquaintance of the Estonian
Estonian
Estonian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe* Estonians – people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent...
nobleman Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Carl Friedrich von Staal, Handmann became a member of the “Accademia Clementina” of Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
in 1773. Apart from a trip to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1753 he never again left his native country.
Literature and References
- Thieme-Becker: Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Leipzig: Seemann, 1907–1950; Taschenbuchausgabe: München: DTV (1992) ISBN 3-423-05908-7
- Thomas Freivogel: Emanuel Handmann 1718–1781 – Ein Basler Porträtist im Bern des ausgehenden Rokoko, Licorne-Verlag (2002) ISBN 3-85654-855-6
- Thomas Freivogel: Emanuel Handmann – beliebtester Porträtist der Familie Tscharner! (online)
- Thomas Freivogel: Zwei Friedrich-Bildnisse von Emanuel Handmann. In: Jürgen Ziechmann (Hrsg.): Fridericianische Miniaturen Bd. 2 (OLDENBURG 1991), S. 189-201
Weblinks
- http://www.khist.unizh.ch/static/Biblio/FV/EH_Buchanzeige.htm (German)