Severin Roesen

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, most artists were not using still life as independent subject matter. Members of the Peale family, especially James and Raphaelle, nurtured the evolution and acceptance of this art form with their understated depictions of simple fruits. By mid-century, the most dedicated and prolific of still life painters was Severin Roesen (circa 1815–1872). His sumptuous and expertly detailed paintings of flowers and fruits celebrate the fertility of America, mirroring Hudson River School paintings of sublime and beautiful landscapes. Roesen’s images, with their profusion of blossoms and fruits, serve as colorful expressions of northern industrial wealth.

Born in Germany, Roesen received early training in his native country as a porcelain and enamel artist and established himself primarily as an oil painter of flowers and fruit. After being accused of fraud, he fled Cologne in 1848. He settled with his family in New York, but left them in 1857 to work in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, a booming lumber town whose prosperous merchants supported Roesen’s career.

While he was most active in Williamsport, Roesen did have an audience in America’s art capital, New York City. His paintings were shown and distributed at the American Art-Union, but received little critical acclaim. Critics did not think highly of still life generally, and rarely mentioned these works in their reviews and reports. However, the selection of Roesen by the Art-Union and his overall success—there are over four hundred known canvases by him—indicate there was a strong commercial demand for his work. [1]

Though clearly influenced by seventeenth-century Dutch still life painters, Roesen expanded his repertoire to include fruit and flower species particular to America. He also repeated certain motifs on a regular basis; he had a reputation as a beer drinker, and often included allusions to beer and wine in his paintings. A Williamsport newspaper article reported: “In one corner of the finished painting would always appear the faint outline of a beer glass, and when a customer objected to its presence, he would say, ‘Why, do you not like beer?’ And then take it out.” [2] After 1861, he frequently placed his compositions in natural settings.

Roesen returned to New York in 1872, yet no record exists of the artist’s life or work after this date. Despite his mysterious disappearance from the art world, Severin Roesen was an important artist whose skillful paintings remain emblematic of American prosperity and materialism.

Notes:

[1] William H. Gerdts, Painters of the Humble Truth: Masterpieces of American Still-life, 1801–1939 (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1981), 88.

[2] “August [sic] Roesen, Artist: An Interesting Williamsport Genius Recalled by his Works,” in Williamsport Sun and Banner, June 27, 1895.