ARTIST: Christian Schussele (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, French, 1824 - 1879)
NAME: Reluctant Patient
YEAR: 1867
MEDIUM: oil on canvas. Canvas applied to board.
CONDITION: Some craquelure. One light half inch scratch. No visible inpaint under UV light.
SIGHT SIZE: 30 x 40 inches / 75 x 100 cm
FRAME SIZE: 33 x 43 inches / 83 x 108 cm
SIGNATURE: Lower left
CATEGORY: antique vintage painting
SKU#: 115688
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Christian Schussele (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, French, 1824 - 1879)
An outstanding teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, is credited with designing the American Medal of Honor. Christian Schussele was born 16 April 1824 in Guebwiller, Alsace. He is thought to have studied in Strasbourg and Paris, where his training as an academic painter also seems to have included some experimentation with lithography. He immigrated to America at mid-century, settling in Philadelphia in the 1850s. There he began to work in chromolithography--mechanical color printing--and soon returned to painting, his primary interest. He achieved some recognition for his highly expressive, although often overly romantic and sentimental, genre and history scenes. His skills at creating well-modeled, solidly constructed forms were widely admired. About 1863, he was attacked by palsy in the right hand. In 1865, he went abroad and underwent severe treatment with no apparent benefit. On his return, in 1868, he was elected to fill the chair, then founded, of drawing and painting in the Pennsylvania Academy, which he held until his death. Poor health forced him to reduce his activity as a painter and printmaker, but he was able to sustain his.Teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy, selecting Thomas Eakins as his assistant in 1876. Schussele's academic strengths made him on one of the Academy's most important instructors, and he continued teaching until his death in 1879.