John Rettig - Art for Sale
John Rettig was a versatile Cincinnati artist and "Wizard of Scenic Creation" who bridged the gap between fine art and grand spectacle. From his early work as a Rookwood Pottery decorator to his massive theatrical pageants and vibrant Dutch maritime paintings, Rettig’s career remains a testament to the fluid, ambitious spirit of American Impressionism.
John Rettig stands as one of the most versatile and culturally significant figures in the history of the Cincinnati art community. Born in 1855 to a German immigrant family, Rettig demonstrated a precocious talent for the visual arts, beginning his professional career by painting frescoes while still a teenager. His formal education was deeply rooted in the traditions of the Midwest, as he studied under the influential Frank Duveneck at the McMicken School of Design. This foundational training in realism was later refined during his travels to Paris, where he embraced a broader European palette and a more sophisticated understanding of light and shadow under the tutelage of masters like Raphael Collin.
What truly distinguished Rettig from his contemporaries was his refusal to be confined to a single medium or scale. He earned the moniker "Wizard of Scenic Creation" due to his extraordinary ability to engineer massive theatrical spectacles that combined history, architecture, and performance. His production of *Montezuma or the Conquest of Mexico* was a landmark in late 19th-century American theater, showcasing his ability to manage grand multimedia pageants that captivated thousands of spectators. This penchant for the dramatic and the decorative also led him to Rookwood Pottery, where he and his brother Martin served as some of the earliest decorators. His work there contributed to the experimental underglaze techniques that eventually established Rookwood as a world-renowned name in ceramic art.
Despite his success in the theatrical world, Rettig’s heart remained tied to the quiet, atmospheric landscapes of the Netherlands and the American coast. In the early 1900s, he became deeply enamored with the fishing village of Volendam, a location that would define the latter half of his career. His dedication to Dutch subjects was so intense that he painstakingly recreated a traditional "Dutch Room" in his Cincinnati studio, complete with authentic costumes and furnishings, to ensure his models were bathed in the correct cultural atmosphere. His paintings from this era, along with his vibrant maritime scenes of Marblehead, Massachusetts, show a beautiful transition from tight realism into a more fluid, Impressionistic style characterized by bright color and a mastery of reflecting water.
Rettig’s legacy is preserved not just in the auction houses where his canvases are still traded, but in the institutional history of Cincinnati itself. As a long-standing president of the Cincinnati Art Club and a beloved mentor, he bridged the gap between the rigid academic art of the 19th century and the more experimental movements of the 20th. Today, his contributions are honored in the permanent collections of the Cincinnati Art Museum, and his unique "Volendam Room" finds its home in the Holland Museum in Michigan, serving as a testament to an artist who possessed the rare ability to build entire worlds within the confines of a frame or upon the stage of a grand theatre.
