Frederick Rondel
French-born American painter (1826–1892)
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Frederick Rondel (1826 – November 1892) was a French-American landscape painter. Born in Paris, he was tutored in art by Théodore Gudin, a marine painter in King Louis Philippe I's court, before moving to the United States in 1855. In the United States, Rondel exhibited his works and taught painting to a number of pupils, including Winslow Homer and Charles Mielatz. He was a member of the Hudson River School movement and frequently depicted areas such as the Hudson River and the Adirondack Mountains.
Frederick Rondel | |
|---|---|
Rondel c. 1866–1871 | |
| Born | 1826 Paris, France |
| Died | November 1892 (aged 65–66) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Movement | Hudson River School |
Biography
Rondel was born in Paris, France, in 1826.[1] He was first tutored in art by Théodore Gudin, who served as a marine painter in King Louis Philippe I's court.[1][2] He was subsequently tutored by Auguste Jugelet, who was also a student of Gudin.[1] Rondel moved to the United States in 1855[3] and settled in Boston; there, he painted and produced lithographs.[4] In 1857, his work was exhibited in New York City at the National Academy of Design;[1] Rondel moved to New York near the end of 1859 and became a member of the National Academy in 1861.[1][4] He also taught art; he tutored the well-known landscape painter Winslow Homer for a short time.[5][6] Later, he trained the artists Charles Mielatz[7] and F. Benedict Herzog.[8]
Over the next few years, Rondel moved to various cities while maintaining his studio in New York, including Boston; South Malden, Massachusetts; and Poughkeepsie, New York. He also took extended trips to Europe in 1862 and San Francisco in 1875.[1][4] He moved to Poughkeepsie by January 1862 and began teaching art to female students there, holding the position of professor of painting at the Cottage Hill Seminary.[9] While there, he was commissioned by the merchant Matthew Vassar to paint a series of works depicting three of Vassar's homes, two of which were located in Poughkeepsie.[4][9] He also befriended the painter Caroline Morgan Clowes there, whom he mentored and collaborated with up until the later years of his life.[9]
Rondel returned to New York City in 1868, where he continued to paint and exhibit his works, before relocating to New Rochelle, New York, in 1871.[1][4] By 1892, Rondel had moved to Philadelphia, where he died and was buried in November of that year.[3][9] He was eulogized in the Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle on December 1, with his obituary reporting that "his paintings are held in high repute".[9] Rondel's son, Fredrick Rondel Jr., also became an artist.[10]
Work
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Rondel was primarily a landscape painter. He was a member of the Hudson River School movement and frequently depicted local areas such as the Hudson River and the Adirondack Mountains.[3][4] Beyond landscapes, Rondel also produced genre paintings, still lifes, portraits, and marine paintings.[3] Rondel's works have been exhibited in, among other museums and galleries, the Mint Museum,[11] the Butler Institute of American Art,[4] and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.[1]
