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Usteri, Johann Martin
(b Zurich, 14 February 1763; d Rapperswil, 29 July 1827). Swiss poet and draughtsman. He was introduced to drawing at art school in Zurich by Valentin Sonnenschein, and he was also helped and encouraged by Salomon Gessner. His first published work, 74 sketches illustrating J. J. Bodmer’s historical stories, appeared in 1781. However, despite his strong artistic leanings, he had to join his father, a merchant, in his business. In 1783 he set out on a prolonged cultural tour through Europe, visiting Basle, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin and Hamburg. In the course of his travels he made contact with Daniel Chodowiecki and the poets Friedrich Gottlob Klopstock and Matthias Claudius. He spent the winter of 1783–4 in Brussels; in 1784 he made an extended tour of the Netherlands, from which he derived great inspiration. In the summer of the same year he went to Paris where he studied in the royal library, returning to Zurich in the autumn. In 1787 his uncle Heinrich Usteri (1754–1802) founded the Zürcher Künstlergesellschaft for visual artists in Zurich in which Usteri distinguished himself by his initiative and dynamism. In 1793 he wrote the poem ‘Freut euch des Lebens’, which achieved fame throughout Europe. Financial upsets compelled Usteri to retire from business in 1804, and he thenceforth devoted himself to drawing, poetry and public works. In 1806 the Schweizerische Künstlergesellschaft was established in Zofingen, largely at his instigation.
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