Christian von Schneidau
Encyclopedia
Christian von Schneidau was a well known California
portrait painter who was recognized for his paintings of Hollywood stars and the Los Angeles
elite. During the Roaring Twenties
he painted Mary Pickford
and other figures from the film industry as well as a number of outdoor figures done in the classic American Impressionist manner. Von Schneideau was born in Ljungby
, Kalmar County
, Sweden
1893, with the name Bror Christian Valdemar Von Schneidau, but went by the shortened Christian von Schneidau. In addition to his portraiture, von Schneidau was also a landscape painter and a private teacher who passed on the French principles of instruction, which he learned at the Art Institute of Chicago
to his students. Von Schneidau was also the founder of the Scandinavian-American Art Society in 1938 and severed as its president for many years. He was also an active member of the California Art Club
.
. He won a scholarship to study at the Art Institute of Chicago
, which was the largest art school in the United States
. He received a formal, French Beaux-Arts style education at the Art Institute. While there, he shared a studio with a younger artist, Theodore Lukits
, whom he would be linked to and remain friends with for the rest of his life. The pair shared an interest in figurative painting while many of their contemporaries were landscape painters. They would both paint film stars as well as painting figures in natural light, and they both studied with Richard E. Miller and Charles Hawthorne. He won the John Quincy Adams Traveling Scholarship at the Art Institute in 1916, but because Europe
was at war, he used the funds to finance his art studies in the east and to travel west to California
.
's annual exhibit in 1918 and a portrait of the gallery owner Joseph Kanst the following year. Once in California, he was influenced by the high-key work of the California Plein-Air Painting
movement. He then met the American Impressionist Richard E. Miller who had been a member of the Giverny School and began to paint vigorously brushed landscapes as well as figurative works. Von Schneidau decided he needed further study, especially in painting figures out of doors, so he spent six months of 1920 studying with Charles Hawthorne (1872–1930) and Richard E. Miller (1875–1943) in the art colony of Provincetown, Massachusetts. When he returned from Massachusetts
, he worked up a large number of paintings from his sketches, and in February 1921, had a solo exhibit at Kanst Gallery in Los Angeles
, titled 'Portraits, Figures, and Landscapes by C. von Schenidau.' Some of these new works- high key portraits with a decorative appearance- are strongly reminiscent of the works of Decorative Impressionism
, which his teachers Miller and Buehr began to experiment with in Gi'verny, France.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
portrait painter who was recognized for his paintings of Hollywood stars and the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
elite. During the Roaring Twenties
Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London, Berlin and Paris for a period of sustained economic prosperity. The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism...
he painted Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and other figures from the film industry as well as a number of outdoor figures done in the classic American Impressionist manner. Von Schneideau was born in Ljungby
Ljungby
Ljungby may refer to:*Ljungby, city in Ljungby Municipality, Sweden*Ljungby Municipality, municipality in Kronoberg County, Sweden*Ljungby, Falkenberg, village and parish in Falkenberg Municipality, Sweden...
, Kalmar County
Kalmar County
Kalmar County is a county or län in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
1893, with the name Bror Christian Valdemar Von Schneidau, but went by the shortened Christian von Schneidau. In addition to his portraiture, von Schneidau was also a landscape painter and a private teacher who passed on the French principles of instruction, which he learned at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
to his students. Von Schneidau was also the founder of the Scandinavian-American Art Society in 1938 and severed as its president for many years. He was also an active member of the California Art Club
California Art Club
The California Art Club , founded in 1909, is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. It celebrated its centennial in the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved from the Painters Club of Los Angeles...
.
Childhood and Education in Chicago
Christian von Schneidau was born to Waldemar and Sophie von Schneidau. His father's family was a noble one and many of his ancestors had served in the Swedish government. His father was a horse breeder and therefore von Schneidau grew up on a large estate. As with most painters, he showed his artistic talents at an early age and received encouragement and private lessons. The von Schneidau family emigrated to America, and like many Scandinavians, they settled in MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. He won a scholarship to study at the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, which was the largest art school in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He received a formal, French Beaux-Arts style education at the Art Institute. While there, he shared a studio with a younger artist, Theodore Lukits
Theodore Lukits
Theodore Nikolai Lukits was a California portrait and landscape painter. His initial fame came from his portraits of some of the most glamorous actresses of the Silent Film era, but since his death, his Asian-inspired works, figures drawn from Hispanic California and his pastel landscapes have all...
, whom he would be linked to and remain friends with for the rest of his life. The pair shared an interest in figurative painting while many of their contemporaries were landscape painters. They would both paint film stars as well as painting figures in natural light, and they both studied with Richard E. Miller and Charles Hawthorne. He won the John Quincy Adams Traveling Scholarship at the Art Institute in 1916, but because Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
was at war, he used the funds to finance his art studies in the east and to travel west to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Von Schneidau in California
Von Schneidau moved to California in 1917 and immediately became part of the artistic life of his chosen home. He exhibited his painting of Joan de Arc at the California Art ClubCalifornia Art Club
The California Art Club , founded in 1909, is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. It celebrated its centennial in the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved from the Painters Club of Los Angeles...
's annual exhibit in 1918 and a portrait of the gallery owner Joseph Kanst the following year. Once in California, he was influenced by the high-key work of the California Plein-Air Painting
California Plein-Air Painting
The term California Plein-Air Painting describes the large movement of 20th century California artists who worked out of doors, directly from nature in California, United States. Their work became popular in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California in the first three decades after the...
movement. He then met the American Impressionist Richard E. Miller who had been a member of the Giverny School and began to paint vigorously brushed landscapes as well as figurative works. Von Schneidau decided he needed further study, especially in painting figures out of doors, so he spent six months of 1920 studying with Charles Hawthorne (1872–1930) and Richard E. Miller (1875–1943) in the art colony of Provincetown, Massachusetts. When he returned from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, he worked up a large number of paintings from his sketches, and in February 1921, had a solo exhibit at Kanst Gallery in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, titled 'Portraits, Figures, and Landscapes by C. von Schenidau.' Some of these new works- high key portraits with a decorative appearance- are strongly reminiscent of the works of Decorative Impressionism
Decorative Impressionism
Decorative Impressionism is an art historical term that is credited to the art writer Christian Brinton, who first used it in 1911. Brinton titled an article on the American expatriate painter Frederick Frieseke, one of the members of the famous Giverny Colony of American Impressionists, "The...
, which his teachers Miller and Buehr began to experiment with in Gi'verny, France.
See also
- California Plein-Air PaintingCalifornia Plein-Air PaintingThe term California Plein-Air Painting describes the large movement of 20th century California artists who worked out of doors, directly from nature in California, United States. Their work became popular in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California in the first three decades after the...
- California Art ClubCalifornia Art ClubThe California Art Club , founded in 1909, is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. It celebrated its centennial in the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved from the Painters Club of Los Angeles...
- Decorative ImpressionismDecorative ImpressionismDecorative Impressionism is an art historical term that is credited to the art writer Christian Brinton, who first used it in 1911. Brinton titled an article on the American expatriate painter Frederick Frieseke, one of the members of the famous Giverny Colony of American Impressionists, "The...
- French Impressionism
- Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
- Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of ChicagoThe School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
- Theodore LukitsTheodore LukitsTheodore Nikolai Lukits was a California portrait and landscape painter. His initial fame came from his portraits of some of the most glamorous actresses of the Silent Film era, but since his death, his Asian-inspired works, figures drawn from Hispanic California and his pastel landscapes have all...
Book and Catalog References
- Morseburg, Jeffrey, Christian von Schneidau: 1893-1976, Unpublished Essay, 2010
- Ask Art Online Database, The Artists Bluebook,Dunbier, Lonnie Pearson, 2005
- Davenport, Ray, Davenport's Art Reference, 2005
- Pyle, Amy, Spanierman Gallery Catalog, 'Re-Emerging American Artists: Art for the New Collector,' 2004
- Hughes, Edan Milton, Artists in California: 1786-1940, 2002
- Falk, Peter Hastings, Who was Who in American Art, 1564-1975, 1999
- Gerdts, William; South, Will, California Impressionism, 1998
- 'Southwest Art,' The Red Book, 1993
- Falk, Peter Hastings, The Annual Exhibition Record of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1990
- Hughes, Edan Milton, Artists in California, 1786–1940, 1989
- Stern, Jean; Fleischer, Morton; Dominik, Janet, Masterworks of California Impressionism, 1986
- Dominik, Janet, Christian Von Schneidau, Petersen Publishing Company, 1986
- Opitz, Glenn, 'American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers,' Mantle Fielding's Dictionary, 1986
- Falk, Peter Hastings, Who was Who in American Art: Artists Active Between 1898-1947, 1985
- Dawdy, Doris, Artists of the American West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1985
- Moure, Nancy Dustin Wall, Southern California Art, 1984
- Westphal, Ruth Lilly, Plein Air Painters of California: The Southland, 1982
- Opitz, Glenn, Dictionary of American Artists, 1982
- Frey, Joseph, Art and Artists: Desert Art Center, 1965
- Mallett, Daniel Trowbridge, Index of Artists: International Biographical, 1935
Periodical References
- Los Angeles Times, February 20, 1921
- Los Angeles Times, March 22, 1925