Jean Huber

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Jean Huber: Voltaire getting dressed in the morning

Jean Huber , also called Huber-Voltaire , (born January 13, 1721 in Geneva , † 1786 in Lausanne ) was a part-time Geneva silhouette cutter , draftsman , engraver and painter who derived his nickname from his main subject, the representation of life and the person of Writer and philosopher Voltaire , received.

Life

The lawyer and officer Jean Huber came from an ennobled Geneva family and was a member of the city council of Geneva from 1752 . After Voltaire's settlement on Lake Geneva , he soon became a friend of the writer. Jean Huber made numerous portraits of the writer, who lived in Ferney from 1757, on his own initiative and later on commission . The range of techniques ranged from silhouette to copper engraving to oil paintings and small sculptures. Almost all of Huber's works have features that range from humorous to caricaturing and idealizing. Huber's work did not always enjoy the approval of the sitter. The portraits were in great demand among the followers and friends of Voltaire. Especially the Baron Friedrich Melchior Grimm made Jean Huber known everywhere. Huber's main work was a series of paintings, Scènes domestiques de la vie de Voltaire , which was commissioned by Catherine II from 1769 to 1772 . Goethe met Jean Huber in 1779 at his country estate and called him "a man who wants to get out the spirit, imagination, and thirst for imitation to all limbs".

After Jean Orieux , Huber had a circus-ready artistry. He was able to cut out silhouettes of guests from black paper behind his back. He had trained his dog to such an extent that it bit into a slice of cheese held up by Huber in such a way that after several bites the silhouette of Voltaire was recognizable. In a letter from Matthissons , however, there is talk of Huber's hunting dog, who bites a slice of bread on his master's back to make Voltaire's silhouette.

Because of his subject, Huber was nicknamed Voltaire. His son François Huber became known as a naturalist.

Works

Web links

Commons : Jean Huber  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gisold Lammel: Daydreams - Images in the light of the Enlightenment , Verlag der Kunst, 1993
  2. ^ Jean Orieux: Das Leben des Voltaire , Volume II, p. 185, Insel Verlag, 1968
personal data
SURNAME Huber, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Voltaire-Huber, Jean; Voltaire-Huber, Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss silhouette cutter, draftsman, engraver and painter
DATE OF BIRTH January 13, 1721
PLACE OF BIRTH Geneva
DATE OF DEATH 1786
Place of death Lausanne