Salomon Gessner

Salomon Gessner (1 April 1730 – 2 March 1788) was a Swiss painter, graphic artist, government official, newspaper publisher and poet; best known in the latter instance for his Idylls. Biography His father, Hans Konrad Gessner (1696–1775), was a printer, publisher, bookseller and member of the High Council of Zürich. From the age of six until his death, he lived in a home his father bought, at Münstergasse 9. He began an apprenticeship in 1749, at a bookshop in Berlin, but stayed for only a year, having decided to devote himself to landscape painting and etching. After a short stay in Hamburg, where he encountered the poetic works of Karl Wilhelm Ramler and Friedrich von Hagedorn, he also developed an interest in poetry. He returned home, without definite plans, but felt uninclined to take part in his father's business. Instead, he joined a group of young men known as Dienstags-Compagnie, that met for discussions and social activities at the homes of their parents (in winter) or at a vineyard clubhouse in Selnau. There, they became enraptured by "Naturschwärmerei" (nature enthusiasm or enchantment) and fancied themselves to be ancient shepherds. His first published poem was Lied eines Schweizers an sein bewaffnetes Mädchen and his first painting was Die Nacht (1753). His next, longer poem, Daphnis (1754), was inspired by a translation of Longus by Jacques Amyot. The first edition of what would become his best known work, Idyllen, appeared in 1756 and a volume of collected works was issued in 1762. From then until 1772, he concentrated on painting.