Samuel Amsler
Who was Samuel Amsler?
Swiss engraver (1791-1849)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Samuel Amsler (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Samuel Amsler (17 December 1791 – 18 May 1849) was a Swiss copper engraver and printmaker from Schinznach-Dorf, Switzerland. He started his artistic training with Johan Heinrich Lips (1758–1817) and then with Karl Ernst Hess in Munich, which helped him develop the precise techniques that marked his career. His training set the stage for a style that mixed careful craftsmanship with attention to the character and spirit of the original pieces he reproduced.
In 1816, Amsler moved to Italy and settled mainly in Rome, where he spent years studying Renaissance and classical art. At that time, Rome was a popular meeting place for artists from all over Europe, and this experience deeply influenced his artistic style. He became a fan of Raphael and was particularly skilled at capturing the essence of paintings and sculptures in his engravings, maintaining the grace and emotional depth of the originals.
In 1829, Amsler took over from his former teacher Karl Ernst Hess as professor of engraving at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, a role he kept until he passed away. As a teacher, he shaped a new generation of engravers while continuing his own extensive work. His major engravings include The Triumphal March of Alexander the Great and a full-length figure of Christ, based on sculptures by Bertel Thorvaldsen and Johann Heinrich Dannecker. He also made renowned engravings of the Entombment of Christ and two Madonnas after Raphael, along with The Union between Religion and the Arts after Johann Friedrich Overbeck, a piece he worked on for six years and was among his last.
A significant document of his life is a portrait album held in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, featuring a detailed head of the German poet Friedrich Rückert. A family portrait of Amsler by Wilhelm von Kaulbach is in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, showing the high regard for Amsler and his connection to the artistic community in Munich. Amsler died in Munich on 18 May 1849, leaving behind work known for its technical skill and its respectful approach to the great masters of painting and sculpture.
Before Fame
Samuel Amsler grew up in Schinznach-Dorf, a small village in the Aargau canton of Switzerland, during a time of significant political and cultural change in Europe. Switzerland was dealing with the aftermath of the Napoleonic changes to its territories, and the artistic scene was centered in the academies of larger cities. Amsler began his engraving career under Johan Heinrich Lips, a well-known Swiss engraver who taught him the basics of the craft.
After training with Lips, Amsler continued his studies in Munich with Karl Ernst Hess, improving his skills in copperplate engraving. From 1816 onward, he chose to spend time in Italy, especially Rome, which was a hub for Neoclassical and early Romantic art. Rome’s collections of ancient sculptures and Renaissance paintings offered him unmatched examples, and his continued study there helped him grow from a skilled technician into an artist able to interpret and convey the expressive qualities of the greatest works of Western art.
Key Achievements
- Appointed professor of engraving at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1829, succeeding Karl Ernst Hess
- Produced widely admired engravings after Raphael, including the Entombment of Christ and two Madonnas
- Engraved The Triumphal March of Alexander the Great and a full-length Christ after sculptures by Thorvaldsen and Dannecker
- Completed The Union between Religion and the Arts after Overbeck, a project representing six years of sustained work
- Left a portrait album now preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, documenting his connections to prominent cultural figures of his era
Did You Know?
- 01.Amsler spent six years working on his final engraving, The Union between Religion and the Arts, after a painting by Johann Friedrich Overbeck.
- 02.His portrait album, containing a notable head of the poet Friedrich Rückert, is held in the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford.
- 03.A family portrait of Amsler painted by the prominent German artist Wilhelm von Kaulbach in 1833 is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
- 04.Amsler succeeded his own teacher, Karl Ernst Hess, as professor of engraving at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts in 1829.
- 05.He lived and worked in Rome for over a decade before returning to Munich, and his deep familiarity with Raphael's work in Italian collections underpinned his most celebrated reproductive engravings.