Ary Scheffer
(1795 - 1858) 







An eminent French painter of Dutch extraction.
Ary Scheffer was born at Dordrechtin
in Southern Holland.

After the early death of his father, a mediocre painter,
we find Madame Scheffer a widow, with three sons:
by name, Ariel, Henri and Arnold.  Ariel was always called Ary. When he grew to manhood he adopted the pet name his mother had playfully given him.

Madame Scheffer decided to leave the sleepy little
Dutch village in Holland, and move the family to Paris.
Her object in moving to Paris was that her boys
could acquire French, the language of learning,
and also that they might be taught art.

Arnold and Henri were each married, and working in careers.  Ary and his mother lived together.

Madame Scheffer was an artist in the village where they
had lived, and taught her boys the basics of drawing.

In Paris, Ary was placed in the studio of Guérin.
Young Scheffer worked away at any subject he thought
would sell. He painted just as his teacher, told him,
and Guérin painted just like his idol, David.

The art world of Paris both recognized and
acknowledged  the genius of Ary Scheffer.

Scheffer became an accomplished portrait painter,
his famous subjects included composers Chopin and Liszt.

Ary went to England to attend the funeral of a lifelong friend, and then he himself suffered a deadly illness.


Ary Scheffer died in 1858.  
His burial was in the
Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris.