Robert Zünd (Born May 3, 1826) was one of the most important painters of the last century. He was from a middle-class family. He attended high school in Lucerne after which he was taught painting and drawing in James Schwegler’s studio. In 1848, Zünd moved to Geneva, at the suggestion of painter Joseph Nidwaldner. Here, he was first taught by François Diday and later by Alexandre Calame who was Diday's student. Zünd's art is distinguished by highly naturalistic, richly detailed style of painting and by his special closeness to nature. His passions were mainly for idyllic landscapes around Lucerne. His landscapes are generally arranged according to classical composition theory. He avoided depicting modern facilities such as railways and buildings. Zünd met Rudolf Koller in 1851 and the two became great friends.
Together, the two traveled to the international art exhibition in Munich in 1889. Zünd traveled to Paris in 1852. And while at the Louvre, he studied the works of the 17th Century’s French and Dutch masters. His first major work was The Harvest which is now in the Kunstmuseum in Basel. In that same year, Zünd copied works by Ruisdael, Paul Potter and Claude Lorrain in Dresden in the Gemälde Gallery. Zünd settled on the outskirts of Lucerne in 1863, and after settling here, he only rarely left for any extended period of time. He was very religious and his religious faith appears in biblical motifs in his pictures he painted between 1867 and 1877. These works included “The Road to Emmaus,” among others.
