Jeremiah Theus
Jeremiah Theus: Charleston’s Rococo Portraitist Jeremiah Theus (1716 – 1774) stands as a singular figure in the annals of early American art, primarily recognized for his prolific output of portraits executed during the flourishing Rococo period in Charleston, South Carolina. Born in Chur, Switzerland, he arrived in America with his family around 1740, driven by the promise of land grants and colonial opportunity offered by the British Crown. This migration marked the beginning of a career dedicated to capturing the elegance and sophistication of Charleston’s elite society—a remarkable feat…
The Subject Atlas
A chart of Jeremiah Theus's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.
Spokes — Subject
Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.
Rings — Career Period
Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.
Threads — Shared Context
Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.