George Hetzel Biography | Oil Painting Reproductions

George Hetzel was born in the mixed French and German part of Alsace, France, and his family spoke German. They emigrated to the United States to a small town near Pittsburgh when he was two years old. Hetzel attended the public Allegheny City school and was apprenticed to a local sign and house-painter. Following four years' preparation, he earned an artisan’s apprenticeship, allowing him to paint the interior murals on the riverboats and local Pittsburgh bars.

George Hetzel was sent to the Arts Academy in Düsseldorf, Germany when he was 21, and studied there between 1847–49 He especially wanted to study Leonardo da Vinci’s Chiaroscuro, the use of light and dark shadows to heighten depth and drama, which became a signature piece in his later works, incorporated into his landscape, portrait and still life oil paintings.

In 1866, he found the tiny rustic village of Scalp Level, not far from Pittsburgh, during a fishing trip. He was at the time a teacher at the Pittsburgh School of Design for Women and encouraged his fellow teachers and students to go to Scalp Level and work "en Plein air" during their summer break.

George Hetzel exhibited at the National Academy in New York between 1865-1882 and at the Pennsylvania Academy until 1891. His works were included in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1892-1893 and the first Carnegie International Art Exhibition of 1896.

Art Movement: Barbizon School.
He Traveled To USA.
Artist's Biography compiled by Albert L. Mansour at The World's Artist, with text adapted from Wikipedia.