Johann Jakob Ulrich

Upon his father's advice, he initially trained to be a merchant, although he had already expressed a strong interest in art and was copying paintings.

In 1816, after the troubles in France had concluded, he began working the banking firm Paturle, Lepin & Cie in Paris[1] He remained at the bank until 1823 but, in 1822, unable to ignore his true desires any longer, he started to frequent the studios of Jean-Victor Bertin, alongside Camille Corot.

Between 1828 and 1830, with the support of the well-known penal reformer, Frédéric-Auguste Demetz (who was also an avid art collector), he travelled throughout Italy and visited England several times from 1832 to 1835, where he was influenced by the works of John Constable.

Later, he began catering to the popular tastes in subject matter, but retained his personal style, expressed by lighting effects.

This began a period of almost nonstop travelling and, combined with eyesight problems, occasioned a decline in the quality of his work.