Godefroy Engelmann
Encyclopedia
Godfroy Engelmann was a 19th century Franco-German Artist.
, a small town near the France
/Switzerland
/Germany
border. At the time of his birth Mulhouse was a free German republic associated with the Swiss Confederation, but was annexed by France 10 years later. He died in that same town 62 years later (1839), from a tumor in his neck.
Engelmann trained in Switzerland and France at La Rochelle and Bordeaux
, and he studied painting and sketching in Jean-Baptiste Regnault’s atelier in Paris
. In the summer of 1814 he travelled to Munich
, Germany
to study lithography
, a German invention. The following spring, he founded La Société Lithotypique de Mulhouse. In June 1816 he opened a workshop in Paris.
Engelmann is largely credited with bringing lithography to France, and later, commercializing Chromolithography
. In 1837 he was granted an English patent for a process of chromolithography that provided consistently high quality results.
Throughout his life, he produced large numbers of prints, including numerous plates for Baron Isidore Justin Séverin Taylor
's celebrated collection of lithographs, Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l’ancienne France.
Engelmann's Paris
printing company, "Engelmann et Graf" was passed on to his son, Godefroy Engelmann II (born 1819), who carried on his father's work with the same high artistic quality until his own death in 1897.
Biography
Godefroy Engelmann was born in 1788 in MühlhausenMulhouse
Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...
, a small town near the France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
/Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
/Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
border. At the time of his birth Mulhouse was a free German republic associated with the Swiss Confederation, but was annexed by France 10 years later. He died in that same town 62 years later (1839), from a tumor in his neck.
Engelmann trained in Switzerland and France at La Rochelle and Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, and he studied painting and sketching in Jean-Baptiste Regnault’s atelier in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In the summer of 1814 he travelled to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to study lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
, a German invention. The following spring, he founded La Société Lithotypique de Mulhouse. In June 1816 he opened a workshop in Paris.
Engelmann is largely credited with bringing lithography to France, and later, commercializing Chromolithography
Chromolithography
Chromolithography is a method for making multi-color prints. This type of color printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and it includes all types of lithography that are printed in color. When chromolithography is used to reproduce photographs, the term photochrom is frequently used...
. In 1837 he was granted an English patent for a process of chromolithography that provided consistently high quality results.
Throughout his life, he produced large numbers of prints, including numerous plates for Baron Isidore Justin Séverin Taylor
Baron Isidore Justin Séverin Taylor
Baron Isidore Justin Séverin Taylor was a royal commissioner of the Théâtre-Français. He was responsible for editing Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l'ancienne France, a celebrated collection of lithographed drawings and paintings....
's celebrated collection of lithographs, Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l’ancienne France.
Engelmann's Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
printing company, "Engelmann et Graf" was passed on to his son, Godefroy Engelmann II (born 1819), who carried on his father's work with the same high artistic quality until his own death in 1897.
Further Reading
- Tanya Szrajber, 'Documents on Godefroy Engelmann’s Chromolithographie', Print Quarterly, XXVIII, 2011, pp. 414-17.