Slate Art by Sebastian Weittenhiller
Slate Art by Sebastian Weittenhiller
This picture was made in Eichstadt, Bavaria, Germany, by Sebastian Weittenhiller for his apprenticeship test as a slate worker when he was 19 years old. The material from which is was made is a slate mined near this town. The picture is composed of 365 pieces of stone sawed from a sheet of slate with a bracket saw and then burned or heated in an oven to produce tile proper shading. It was then replaced and cemented together.
This picture was brought to Platteville, WI by his wife in the year 1853. She came to New Orleans by sailboat on an overseas trip that took 49 days. Then up the Mississippi River on a smaller sailing vessel to Galena, IL. Then overland by wagon to Platteville, WI
Sebastian Weittenhiller was the grandfather of Charles Weittenhiller. Mrs. Charles Weittenhiller retained this picture until her death, Jan. 28, 1972. It was then transferred to the Cunningham Museum in Platteville, WI and then to Lancaster, WI when the museum moved.
Sebastian Weittenhiller made only two such pictures, this "Horse Picture" and one other, "The Last Supper", which is reported to be in a museum somewhere in Germany. If anyone has knowledge of this second picture, please email us that his descendants might be able to view it one day.
This note of interest from James Weittenhiller Ronnerud, descendant of Sebastion:
"thought to be in Munich museum". It was sold to Munich museum. After the war when my uncle Bob went looking for it the people said that 'all the treasures were in under ground hiding'. He never did determine if it was still around."
This copy was made available thanks to James Ronnerud, a direct descendant of "Sebastion Weittenhiller".
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