1 November 1723, Winterthur – 17 October 1786, Bern


After a few years at school, he became a pupil of the landscape painter Heinrich Meyer, who, at the age of eighteen, sent him to the drawing school of Johann Grimm in Bern. There he studied portrait and landscape painting. In the 1740s, he undertook a study tour through the Bernese Highlands, an experience that had a lasting influence on his development as a landscape painter. He later became head of Grimm's drawing school and traveled extensively throughout Switzerland. He is regarded as the leading representative of the Swiss Little Masters, producing small-scale vedute and landscapes that found a wide market during the golden age of Alpine tourism. The "Aberli manner," named after him, refers to a printmaking technique in which delicately hand-colored outline etchings create the appearance of original drawings.

10 April 1758, Carpentras – 20 October 1846, Montmorency

Bidauld studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon and later in Paris. Between 1785 and 1790, he undertook a trip to Italy that had a lasting impact on his perception of landscapes. After his return, he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon. At the age of 65, he became the first landscape painter to be elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. 


29 July 1798, Cottbus – 23 July 1840, Berlin

After completing a banking apprenticeship, Blechen began his studies at the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin in 1822. From 1824, he worked as a decorative painter at the Königsstädtisches Theatre. Trips to Switzerland, Dresden, the Baltic Sea and Rügen inspired numerous drawings and oil sketches. A year-long trip to Italy in 1828 took him to Rome and southern Italy. In 1831, he was appointed professor of landscape painting, and four years later he became a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts.

11 April 1799, Paris – 12 May 1842, Paris

De Bray studied under the French Neoclassical painter Jean-Victor Bertin, who also taught Camille Corot. From 1827 onward, he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon, presenting primarily landscapes of the French provinces, particularly the Forest of Fontainebleau.

29 May 1802, Pirmasens – 10 June 1869, Munich

After abandoning both a commercial apprenticeship and his studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, Bürkel continued his artistic training as a self-taught painter, particularly by copying works by the Dutch Old Masters. In 1824, he became a founding member of the Munich Art Association (Münchner Kunstverein), which enabled him to exhibit his work independently of the Academy. In 1827, he made his first journey to Italy, a country to which he returned several times throughout his life.

22 March 1812, Hemberg – 22 January 1890, Zurich

Born into a poor farming family, Bühlmann began working at an early age to help support his family. Unable to afford formal academic training, he apprenticed as a decorative painter in Zurich. He spent his free time drawing in the countryside, and his sketches soon attracted buyers among collectors and art enthusiasts. In 1835, he undertook his first extended journey through the Bernese Highlands, the Valais, and northern Italy. A year later, he moved to Rome, which remained the center of his life for the next thirty-five years and from where he traveled throughout Italy. In 1870, he sold his extensive collection of vedute to the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zurich (now ETH Zurich) before settling permanently in Zurich.

1 February 1798, Saint-Aubin-des-Chaumes – 24 February 1871, Lyon

D’Aligny was initially trained by Louis Étienne Watelet and later by Jean-Victor Bertin, both representatives of the classical French ideal landscape. In 1824, he traveled to Italy, where he formed a close friendship with Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot. Together, they devoted themselves to drawing and painting en plein air. In 1860, d’Aligny became director of the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon.

22 February 1778, Berlin – 19 December 1856, Rome

Catel was among the most prominent members of the German artistic community in Rome. He began his career as an illustrator before studying oil painting in Paris between 1807 and 1811. He then settled in Italy, where he remained for the rest of his life. In Rome, he maintained an open house for artists and, in 1845, established a foundation to support artists in financial need. In the same year, he was a co-founder of the German Art Association.

17 July 1796, Paris – 22 February 1875, Paris

Corot decided to pursue a career as a painter only at the age of twenty-six. After a brief period of training under Achille-Etna Michallon, he continued his studies with Jean-Victor Bertin, who introduced him to the tradition of plein air painting established by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes. He spent several extended periods in Italy, traveled extensively through Switzerland and France, and regularly returned to his studio during the winter to develop his paintings. He exhibited his work regularly at the Paris Salon and later became a central figure of the Barbizon School.

24 February 1788, Bergen – 14 October 1857, Dresden

From 1811 to 1817, Dahl studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, where he devoted himself to plein air painting from an early stage in his career. In Dresden, he became acquainted with Caspar David Friedrich and was elected a member of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in 1820. In the same year, he made his first journey to Italy, spending several months in the Gulf of Naples and in Rome, where he associated with artists including Achille-Etna Michallon. After returning to northern Europe, he settled in Dresden and was appointed Professor at the Academy in 1824.

1796, Liège – 1842, Liège

In 1817, he moved to Paris and undertook a seven-year apprenticeship in the studio of the history painter Baron Gros. In 1824, he was awarded a scholarship to travel to Rome and Naples. Although little is known about his contacts with other artists, he was in Italy at the same time as artists such as Camille Corot, Anton Sminck Pitloo and Frans Vervloet.

14 April 1755, Antwerp – 1 January 1813, Naples

After studying in Antwerp, Denis lived in Paris for ten years before moving to Rome in 1786. There, he became part of the Belgian artist colony and, in 1789, was appointed head of the Fondation St. Julien-des-Flamands. He also moved within French artistic circles and undertook travels to places such as Tivoli. In 1803, he became a member of the Accademia di San Luca, and from 1809 he served as a professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples.

10 February 1802, Geneva – 28 November 1877, Geneva

After training at the Geneva drawing school, Diday moved to Paris in 1823 and made his first trip to Italy a year later, visiting Rome and Naples. In contrast to Adam Töpffer, whom he initially accompanied on nature excursions, Diday soon turned his attention to mountainous landscapes, developing a particular interest in the Bernese Highlands. From 1829 onward, he taught artists including Alexandre Calame. In 1854, Diday became a member of the Geneva city council, a position he held for twenty-five years. His travels took him to France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy on several occasions; in 1875 he visited an exhibition of Camille Corot in Paris.

26 December 1759, Grüngiebing – 28 September 1841, Munich

After his ordination as a priest in 1782, von Dillis increasingly devoted himself to art, teaching drawing and painting to aristocratic families. As inspector of the Electoral Picture Gallery and art advisor to Crown Prince Ludwig, he undertook numerous travels. He later became Professor of Landscape Painting at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and is now regarded as one of the most important representatives of Munich landscape painting.

9 January 1789, Versailles – 12 October 1837, Paris

Dupré served as court painter to the King of Westphalia, Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon I. A royal commission enabled him in 1814 to travel to Italy, where he first spent two years in Naples and later stayed for extended periods in Rome. From there, he traveled throughout the Mediterranean region as far as Constantinople and published his impressions in a richly illustrated travel account.

11 March 1757, Paris – 11 November 1841, Jouy-en-Josas

Dunoy began his career around 1780 in Paris and later traveled to Italy, where he studied the landscapes around Rome and Naples in particular. His later landscape paintings follow the tradition of the French ideal landscape and draw on studies made in Italy.

27 December 1802, Halden – 16 January 1842, Munich

After abandoning a military career, Fearnley studied painting in Copenhagen. From 1829 onward, he became a pupil of Johan Christian Clausen Dahl, from whom he adopted a precise approach to the observation of nature.Between 1832 and 1835, he lived and worked in Italy.

18 December 1804, Paris – 20 October 1858, Paris

Fleury studied under Jean-Victor Bertin, alongside artists such as Camille Corot and Caruelle d’Aligny. During a journey to Italy beginning in 1824, he met both artists in Rome; in particular, he developed a close friendship with Corot. He remained in Italy for several years, traveling extensively through southern Italy. After returning to France, he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon and was closely associated with the Barbizon School.

27 January 1813, Basel – 30 September 1865, Frascati

Frey received his first artistic training from his father, Samuel Frey, in Basel and later continued his education in Paris as a self-taught artist. Thanks to the support of the Basel patron Emilie Linder, he was able to travel to Rome in 1835, where he eventually settled permanently. There he specialized in landscape painting, and his studio became an important meeting point for the German artists’ colony in Rome.

22 June 1801, Heidelberg – 11 October 1833, Karlsruhe

From 1810 onward, Fries received drawing lessons from Friedrich Rottmann in Heidelberg and later from the court painter Carl Kunz in Karlsruhe. After studying at the Munich Academy, he further trained as an architectural draftsman in Darmstadt. Together with Johann Heinrich Schilbach and Carl Rottmann, he undertook journeys along the Rhine, to Salzburg, Tyrol, and Switzerland. In 1823, he traveled with Schilbach to Rome, where he produced numerous oil sketches and drawings. There he also met Camille Corot, with whom he collaborated closely from 1826 onward. After four years in Italy, Fries returned to Heidelberg and was appointed court painter in Karlsruhe in 1831.

30 April 1801, Paris – 18 November 1879, Paris

Giroux was born in Paris as the son of François Simon-Alphonse Giroux, a manufacturer of photographic equipment for Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. From 1821, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David. In 1825, he won the Prix de Rome, which enabled him to travel to Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. During his stay in Rome, he became friends with Camille Corot, François Fleury, and Caruelle d’Aligny. He also developed an early interest in photography and incorporated the cliché-verre technique into his work.

28 February 1809, Berlin – 25 March 1900, Berlin

Carl Adolf Henning began his studies at the Berlin Academy in 1823. This was followed by a multi-year stay in Italy, which took him to Naples, Sicily, Rome, and northern Italy and formed the foundation for his later work. He later worked in Berlin as a portrait, landscape, and history painter. In 1839, he became a member and professor at the Berlin Academy of Arts.

1. December 1787, Düsseldorf – 3 June 1871, Zurich

Huber was trained early by his father, who was also an artist. By the age of eighteen, he had already begun independently making studies in nature. After periods in Munich and Vienna, he moved to Rome in 1810, where he moved within the circle of Joseph Anton Koch and Christian Reinhart. For health reasons, he later stayed in Naples, where he undertook numerous excursions in the surrounding region and southern Italy. In 1821, he returned to Zurich and continued to travel extensively, particularly to Germany.

3 August 1777, Tilburg – 1 October 1847, Berlicum

Knip was the son of a decorative painter, from whom he also received his first artistic training. From 1801, he lived in Paris for about nine years. He then moved to Rome, where he stayed until 1812. During this period, he undertook travels to Naples, the Campagna, and the Sabine and Alban Hills. In 1813, he returned to the Netherlands. He later lived in Amsterdam and again in Paris. After becoming blind like his father, he received a pension from William I of the Netherlands.

27 July 1768, Elbigenalp – 12 July 1839, Rome

Koch came from a small farming family. He received his early education at the seminary in Dillingen and later in Augsburg. He was subsequently admitted to the Hohe Karlsschule in Stuttgart. Revolutionary events forced him to flee, after which he went to Strasbourg and Switzerland. In particular, he produced nature studies and alpine drawings in the Bernese Highlands. In 1795, he settled in Rome. Only around 1802/03 did he turn intensively to oil painting, significantly developing landscape painting. He was the first to depict mountains in a monumental form. His mountain drawings from Rome, as well as studies from the Swiss Alps, served as the basis for his large-scale landscapes. Koch was at the center of the German and Austrian artist community in Rome and was friends with Christian Reinhart and Franz Ludwig Catel.

28 August 1799, Paris – 26 December 1826, Nice

Like his father and his two brothers, Auguste-Xavier Leprince became a landscape painter. His artistic career was significantly supported by a group of private collectors, the Société des amis des arts. From 1819 onward, he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon and remained active until his early death at the age of 27.

8 September 1785, Corcelles – 27 February 1868, Neuchâtel

De Meuron began painting in oil and watercolor while still at school, without formal artistic training. After stays in Berlin and Paris, he traveled to Rome for the first time in 1809, where he devoted himself to landscape drawing and painting and early on embraced plein air painting. He moved within Roman artistic circles and undertook study trips in the surrounding region. After repeated stays in Italy, he returned permanently to Switzerland, where he focused on landscape motifs in central Switzerland and the Alps, while also engaging in political activity.

22 October 1796, Paris – 24 September 1822, Paris

Michallon came from a family of sculptors and was trained by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, whose teaching strongly influenced his landscape painting and oil sketches. In 1817, he won the Prix de Rome, after which he spent two years in Rome and traveled through southern Italy. After returning to Paris in 1821, he taught in his studio, where his pupils included Camille Corot, before his early death at the age of 25.

18 November 1786, Basel – 29 June 1836, Basel

Miville was trained in Rome and Zurich, where he came into early contact with Johann Christian Reinhart and Joseph Anton Koch. He produced nature studies in the Roman countryside and later also worked in Russia as a draughtsman in the service of a count.After a stay in St. Petersburg, he returned to Rome and moved within artistic circles there. From 1821 onward, he lived again in Basel, focusing on landscape depictions of Switzerland.

1 January 1805, Copenhagen – 29 August 1838, Patras

Ernst Christian Frederik Petzholdt studied at the Academy in Copenhagen and was a pupil of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, the founder of the Golden Age of Danish painting. In 1830, he left for Rome, where he moved within artistic circles. This was followed by travels to Tivoli, Subiaco, and Olevano, as well as longer journeys to Naples, Pompeii, Sicily, and Corfu. His nature studies are characterized by unusual compositions and a bright, luminous palette.

8 May 1790, Arnhem – 22 June 1837, Naples

Pitloo began his artistic training in the Netherlands and continued it in Paris under Jean-Victor Bertin. After winning the Prix de Rome in 1808, he traveled to Rome in 1811. Four years later, he settled in Naples, where he remained permanently aside from travels to Switzerland and other parts of Italy. He became a professor at the Naples Academy and a central figure of the so-called School of Posillipo.

25 April 1804, Eisenach – 23 April 1878, Weimar

Preller attended the Princely Free Drawing School under Johann Heinrich Meyer from 1814 to 1821. He then studied landscape painting in Dresden, focusing on works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Claude Lorrain, and Nicolas Poussin. In 1823, he carried out nature studies in the Saxon Switzerland, supported by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This was followed by studies at the Antwerp Academy under Mathieu Ignace van Brée, after which he made his first trip to Italy. In Rome, he met Joseph Anton Koch.

18 July 1788, Gera – 15 January 1825, Rome

Reinhold was the son of a portrait and genre painter. From 1805, he studied at the Dresden Academy and from 1807 at the Vienna Academy. This was followed by a stay in Paris (1809–1814), facilitated by the Louvre director Dominique-Vivant Denon. Back in Vienna, he made numerous nature studies in the surrounding countryside. In 1819, he traveled to Rome for the first time, where he moved within artistic circles and associated, among others, with Carl Blechen. Together with Johann Heinrich Schilbach, he undertook journeys to Olevano, the Gulf of Naples, Sorrento, and Sicily. His works are characterized by his training as an engraver and illustrator, often evident in his unconventional compositional approach.

19 April 1795, Paris – 9 July 1875, Paris

Rémond studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Jean-Victor Bertin, through whom he also became acquainted with Achille-Etna Michallon. In 1821, he traveled through France, Sweden, and Italy. He received several medals at the Paris Salon and was awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1834. Later, he opened a studio in Paris, where he trained young artists.

30 July 1778, Kassel – 9 September 1868, Rome

Von Rohden was the son of a merchant. He completed his training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kassel. In 1795, he made his first journey to Rome and became a member of the German artists’ colony centred around Johann Christian Reinhart. Following a stay in Germany (1798–1802), he returned to Rome once more. He developed close ties with Joseph Anton Koch and Reinhart, and undertook journeys to Sicily (1805). In 1819, he became a member of the Berlin Academy; in 1821, he co-founded the German Library in Rome; and a year later, he became chairman of the German Artists’ Relief Fund. After a brief spell as a court painter, he returned to Rome permanently and, following Koch’s death, became a central figure in idealised landscape painting for decades.

13 May 1794, La Chaux-de-Fonds – 20 March 1835, Venice

At the age of sixteen, Robert left Switzerland and moved to Paris to pursue a career as an engraver. He later traveled to Rome, where he spent most of his life. There he turned to painting, initially producing depictions of churches and monasteries, and later, from around 1820 onward, scenes of popular life and brigand subjects.

11 January 1793, Binningen – 12 May 1858, Paris

Salathé received early drawing instruction in Basel. In 1814, he undertook his first major study journey through central Switzerland, Graubünden, the Valtellina, Ticino, and the Gotthard region. The following year, he traveled to Rome for the first time, where he met Joseph Anton Koch and Johann Christian Reinhart and accompanied them on excursions to the Alban Hills. This was followed by stays in Naples and studies in Ariccia. He regularly spent time in Rome and remained in contact with fellow artists such as Jakob Christoph Miville. In 1821, he left Rome permanently and returned to Basel, continuing to make nature studies in the Alps along the way. In 1823, he moved to Paris, where he worked as an engraver for an illustrated travel publication.

28 September 1798, Barchfeld – 9 May 1851, Darmstadt

Schilbach began his training in 1812 as a theatrical painter in Darmstadt. Among his friends was Ernst Fries. In 1818, he traveled through Switzerland and undertook another journey there three years later together with Fries. In 1823, he received a scholarship from Grand Duke Ludwig I and traveled to Italy with Fries. He spent five years in Rome, where he was closely integrated into artistic circles, and also stayed in Naples in 1825. In 1828, he was appointed theatrical painter in Darmstadt, while continuing to work as a landscape painter.


20 May 1766, Geneva – 10 August 1847, Geneva

Initially working as an engraver and illustrator, Töpffer moved to Paris in 1789. The French Revolution forced him to return to his hometown. He later returned to Paris several times and undertook excursions in Savoy and the Vaud region. A journey to England shaped his later, innovative sensitivity to atmospheric light effects in his plein air studies.

28 February 1798, Andelfingen – 17 March 1877, Zurich

After completing school in Winterthur, where he already drew and painted, Ulrich underwent commercial training and likely received instruction from Johann Caspar Huber. In 1816, he moved to Paris as a bank clerk, where he became a pupil of Jean-Victor Bertin and from 1825 ran his own studio. In 1828, he traveled via Geneva and Florence to Rome, where he worked in the surrounding countryside. After a longer stay, he returned to Rome, later traveled to Naples due to illness, and eventually returned to Switzerland. From there, he continued to travel to Paris and Italy and intensively studied the Alpine landscape.

1. December 1750, Toulouse – 16 February 1819, Paris

De Valenciennes studied from the early 1770s at the Académie royale de peinture, sculpture et architecture de Toulouse. As early as 1769, he undertook his first journey to Italy, which developed into a longer stay in Rome and further travels throughout Italy after completing his training. There he produced numerous nature studies. After returning to Paris around 1795, he became a member of the Academy and in 1812 was appointed Professor of Perspective at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1816, he initiated the Prix de Rome for historical landscape painting. De Valenciennes had a lasting impact on the idea of painting outdoors and decisively influenced the following generation of artists.

13 October 1804, Winterthur – 6 June 1850, Winterthur

Weidenmann completed an apprenticeship as a decorative painter but developed his artistic talent early as a self-taught artist. With the support of art patrons in Winterthur, he was able to travel to Italy in 1823, where he spent nearly ten years. After returning home, he became primarily known as a portrait painter. He later returned to Rome, where he moved within the circle of Joseph Anton Koch, before undertaking a journey to Algeria and finally settling permanently in Winterthur.


3 May 1735, Muri – 6 October 1798, Heidelberg

Wolf was born in Muri in the canton of Aargau and trained in the centres of South German Rococo art in Konstanz, Augsburg, and Munich. In 1769, he traveled via Basel to Paris, where Alpine landscape painting was becoming increasingly accepted in artistic circles. After returning, he produced topographical studies and undertook numerous excursions, working with the publisher Abraham Wagner to gather material for a major series of landscape prints.He created oil sketches on cardboard in the field and developed them in the studio; these paintings were sometimes taken back into the mountains the following year to be completed on site. Between 1773 and 1779, he produced a major cycle of works in which he made the Alps the central subject, decisively shaping the development of realistic landscape painting in the 18th century.