Johann Jakob Schalch

The recorded working language is German. Places of work recorded in the authority are Greater London and The Hague. Work by Johann Jakob Schalch is recorded in the collections of Städel Museum, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Bratislava City Gallery and Museum of All Saints.

• Name — Johann Jakob Schalch • Born — 23 January 1723 • Birthplace — Schaffhausen, Switzerland • Died — 21 August 1789 • Place of death — Schaffhausen • Field — Painting

Johann Jakob Schalch was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He studied under the painter and stucco plasterer Johann Ulrich Schnetzler in Schaffhausen, and later under the animal painter Karl Wilhelm de Hamilton in Augsburg. As a young man Schalch made study trips to Germany and France. He married Maria Oechslin in Schaffhausen in 1750. In 1754 Schalch moved to London, where he soon met and received commissions to paint for members of the Royal Court. He specialized in landscaping and animal painting; several of his works are now in the Royal Collection, including The gardens at Kew and The White House, Kew. In 1763 Schalch moved to Holland, where he painted the English Ambassador in The Hague. The painting depicts Ambassador York astride a horse. This painting was his breakthrough and is regarded as his masterpiece. In 1773 Schalch returned to his hometown, Schaffhausen, he remained for the rest of his life. He died at his residence, in the countryside known as 'the Durstgraben' (near his beloved Rheinfall) in 1789. He had been nearly blind during his last years.