Alexandre Calame
1810-1864
Alexandre Calame was a great Swiss 19th century landscape painter and lithographer.
Alexandre Calame first apprenticed as a tradesman in Geneva. In 1830 he entered the studio of Diday where he made rapid progress and eventually succeeded his mentor as headmaster of the school.
By 1837 Calame was exhibiting his paintings in both Geneva and Hamburg and in 1839 he became a popular exhibitor at the Paris Salon.
Calame visited and painted fine landscapes in Germany and Holland (1839), England (1840) and Italy (1845). His greatest works of art are generally held to be his magnificent views of the Alps and the surrounding landscapes.
Calame created his first original lithographs and etchings in the 1840′s and showed as much skill in these mediums as in painting. Two of his most famous lithographic sets of images are, Views of Lauterbrunnen and Meyringen and Alpine Landscapes. This magnificent landscape lithograph probably originates from one of these series.
The art of Alexandre Calame is presently housed in many permanent collections, including major museums in London, Paris, Basle, Berlin, Bern, Frankfort and Geneva.
