Rating and value of drawings and paintings by Ary Scheffer

Ary Scheffer’s paintings and drawings sell for up to €12,200 at auction. An appraisal allows us to accurately determine the current market value of your Ary Scheffer artwork and, if applicable, optimize the sale of the piece.

If you own a work by Ary Scheffer and would like to know its value, our state-certified auctioneers will provide a free appraisal based on authenticity, market rating, and recent market results.

Market Value and Reputation of Artist Ary Scheffer   

Ary Scheffer is considered one of the most famous religious painters of the 19th century; he left behind a distinct artistic legacy. This legacy consists primarily of caricatures and drawings.

Currently, prices for his works are rising at auction, and his market value is on the rise. His paintings and other works are particularly sought after, especially by French buyers, and the prices at which they sell on the art market range from €20 to €220,000—a considerable spread that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Scheffer’s works.

His oil on canvas titled *Portrait of George Washington*, after Gilbert Stuart, dating from 1825, sold for €220,000, while it had been estimated at between €80,000 and €120,000.  

A range of values from a simple work to the most prestigious 

Placing the Artist in Context

Period

Ary Scheffer (1795–1858) was born in Dordrecht, Holland. His career spanned the first half of the 19th century, a period that saw the birth and flourishing of the Romantic movement in France.

He trained in the studio of Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, where he befriended Géricault and Delacroix, major figures of the future Romantic school.

His official recognition came early and was long-lasting, bolstered by close ties to those in power. In 1822, he was appointed drawing instructor to the children of the House of Orléans, a position he held until the July Monarchy.

Artistic Movements

Scheffer ranks among the leading figures of Romanticism, a movement to which he is linked by a substantial body of work spanning all genres. His stylistic evolution stemmed from a gradual move beyond Davidian academicism: he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts and also frequented Prud’hon’s studio. His early work reflected a literary Romanticism.

His uniqueness within the movement stems from a distinctively mystical and literary inspiration.

He established himself as one of the masters of French Romantic painting; his compositions reveal a mystical and dreamlike inspiration, and he painted works based on literary models by Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe.

The Life of Ary Scheffer  

Cultural Background

Ary Scheffer was born into a family of artists: his father, Johann-Bernhard, was a portraitist and history painter. His mother, Cornélia Lamme, was a miniaturist, and his two brothers, Charles-Arnold and Henry, also shared this artistic calling.

In 1806, his father was appointed court painter to Louis-Napoléon, King of Holland, but died in 1809. Ary Scheffer then moved to Paris with his mother and brothers in 1811, an early turning point in his life that led him to leave the Netherlands for good.

Between 1818 and 1830, along with his brother Charles-Arnold, a journalist at *Le Globe*, he moved in the circles of General La Fayette. His studio thus became a favored gathering place for liberals campaigning on behalf of the Duke of Orléans.

Artistic and Intellectual Circle

He left Guérin’s studio at the dawn of the Romantic movement, adopting a unique stance toward the most radical aesthetics of his contemporaries. Théodore Rousseau completed *La descente des vaches* in his studio. The painting was rejected by the 1835 Salon.

Scheffer then decided to present this painting alongside works by Paul Huet and Jules Dupré, thereby establishing the first “exhibition of rejected works”—a pioneering move 28 years before the famous Salon des Refusés of 1863.

Secluded in his studio toward the end of his life, he continued to paint and teach, but above all to entertain the cream of Parisian society (George Sand, Chopin, Liszt, Delacroix…).

Market Segmentation and Artist Rankings

Prices of Works

The market for Scheffer’s works has recently experienced particularly favorable momentum. Since 2021, the artist has achieved strong results at auction, particularly in France, where his collectors are most numerous.

In 2021, a painting by his brother Henry Scheffer—a useful comparable benchmark for assessing the Scheffer family’s market—sold for €21,280 in Toulouse, a result that contextualizes Ary Scheffer’s position as the leading figure in the artistic dynasty.

The artist’s prolific output is a key factor in the liquidity of the secondary market: Scheffer’s career is marked by the creation of approximately eight hundred paintings, spanning nearly every genre.

Factors Influencing Value

His status as a central figure of French Romanticism is the primary source of critical and market legitimacy: Ary Scheffer has established himself among the masters of French Romantic painting, his compositions revealing a mystical and dreamlike inspiration.

His personal connections with major intellectual and artistic figures of the 19th century lend his work an exceptional biographical dimension. In his studio, which doubled as a salon, Scheffer frequently hosted Delacroix, Rossini, Dickens, and Chopin.

This enduring recognition by museums, marked by the 1982 opening of the Renan-Scheffer Museum—which became the Museum of Romantic Life in 1987 and has acquired many of the master’s paintings over the years—has institutionally anchored his body of work and bolstered his standing among specialized collectors.

FAQ – How do you appraise a work by Ary Scheffer?

1) What genres did Ary Scheffer work in, and are they all equally valuable?

His career is marked by a body of work comprising approximately 800 paintings, covering nearly every genre. His historical compositions attracted numerous official commissions, while his portraits brought him widespread recognition. 

2) Why is it essential to know whether a composition was a replica painted by the artist himself?

This is one of the most important factors in appraising a work by Scheffer. He produced numerous preparatory sketches, both painted and drawn, and sometimes devoted several years to a single painting. When a subject was well-received, he would produce replicas of it or commission others to make copies.

3) Why did Scheffer fall out of critical favor after his death?

Baudelaire noted this artist’s failure at the 1846 Salon in his essay “On Mr. Ary Scheffer and the Monkeys of Sentiment.” Yet the art critic Delécluze regarded Scheffer as one of the great artists of the French Romantic movement. He was gradually rehabilitated through a series of exhibitions.

Recognizing the Artist’s Signature

Ary Scheffer sometimes signs his works, usually at the bottom of the composition, in a color that contrasts with the background.

Get Your Ary Scheffer Artwork Appraised

If you own a work by Ary Scheffer, an appraisal will help you determine its current market value.

Using our online form, our experts and certified auctioneers will conduct a free appraisal and provide you with a reliable estimate of your artwork’s market value.

 If you’re considering selling it, we’ll guide you through the process to ensure you get the best possible price.