Frederick Ferdinand Schafer Painting Catalog

About the artist and his art

Short version

• A brief biographical sketch

Academic-strength version (caution: contains footnotes)

The reader should understand that the term "Academic" in the title is relative. The author is an academic, but is not trained in either art history or the techniques of painting. In consequence, despite the academic style of these notes, the observations made here should be taken as those of an amateur. There is more on this point in Preface: Why a professor of engineering is maintaining an art history web site.

[Each of the following sections is linked to the next, so you can either start with the first section, or choose a section from the links in the table of contents below.]

1. The artist
   1. Schafer's background and training
      • Vital statistics
   2. Travels of the artist
2. The art
   1. Schafer's artistic style
   2. Light and color
   3. Space, scale, and perspective
   4. Depiction of water
   5. Iconography in Schafer's paintings
   6. Similarities, affinities, and influences
   7. Comments by others about the work of Frederick F. Schafer
3. Constructing the art
   1. Brushwork, detail, finish, and drawing
   2. Signature inscriptions
   3. Other inscriptions
   4. Painting sizes, media, and number
   5. On the number of paintings by Schafer
4. Legends and myths about Schafer
5. Other artists with similar names or signatures
6. Chronology of events in Schafer's life
7. Summary and acknowledgements