Albert Küchler, O.F.M., (2 May 1803 – 16 February 1886) was a Danish painter associated with the Danish Golden Age. He mainly painted genre works and portraits. He was highly esteemed by his contemporaries but is little known today. Later in life, he converted to Catholicism and became a member of the Order of Friars Minor

Early life and education

Küchler was born in Copenhagen to cabinet maker Christian Küchler (ca. 1772–1845) and his wife Mette Cathrine Andreasdatter Terkelsen (ca. 1762–1849). His father disapproved of his ambitions to become an artist but ultimately accepted and Albert attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1816. Like the rest of his generation of Danish painters, he studied under Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783-1853). The German Nazarene movement and its artistic programme were also important to Küchler. He won the great gold medal at the Academy in 1829.

Time in Rome with the Danish artists colony

With the Gold Medal came a travel scholarship and in 1830 Küchler travelled to Rome where he settled and became a popular member of the city's thriving community of Danish artists. He is seen in several of the most well-known paintings of the period, including ''A gathering of Danish artists in Rome'' (1837) by

Constantin Hansen Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature and mythology, and inspired by art hi ...

(1804– 1880) and ''Danish artists in a Roman osteria'' (1837) by

Ditlev Blunck Ditlev Conrad Blunck (22 June 1798 – 7 January 1853) was a Danish-German painter associated with the Danish Golden Age during the first half of the 19th century. Biography Blunck was born in 1798 in Münsterdorf in Holstein, at that time ...

(1798–1853). Küchler mainly painted the colourful everyday life of the locals. He was a particularly close friend of the poet Christian Winther (1796–1876) for whom he painted ''The Albanian Girl'' (1831), also known as ''The Italian Girl'', a painting of Winther's local girlfriend . He also painted a portrait of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

during Andersen's first visit to Rome from 1833 to 1834.

Conversion to Catholicism

Küchler converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in 1844. His friends were critical and surprised at his new religious attitude. In 1851, he took his religious beliefs even further when he became a Friar Minor, assuming the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...

of Peter of Copenhagen. He spent three years in the St. Joseph Church in Prudnik before settling in the St. Bonaventure Monastery on Rome's

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Religious paintings

The Pope gave him special permission to continue his artistic work in the monastery and gave him several assignments. From that time on, he made exclusively religious works, including

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

s and copies of older paintings. In Denmark, his religious works can be seen in churches at

Ballerup Ballerup is a Danish town, seat of the Ballerup Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. There are approximately 25 schools in Ballerup Municipality. Ballerup has its own educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of ...

and

Esbønderup Esbønderup is a parish and small town situated north of Lake Esrum in Gribskov Municipality, North Zealand. some north of Copenhagen, Denmark. As of 1 January 2022, it had a population of 1,190. History The name is known from 1178 as ''Esbiornst ...

in northern Zealand and Toreby Church on

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

. It has been observed that Küchler's early works, from the time prior to his conversion, are also rich in religious references. An example is ''Correggio's Death'' from 1834. The immediate inspiration for the painting was the tragedy ''Correggio'' (1809) by playwright

Adam Oehlenschläger Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (14 November 177920 January 1850) was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature. He wrote the lyrics to the song ''Der er et yndigt land'', which is one of the national anthems ...

(1779–1850) but in Küchler's interpretation it becomes loaded with religious significance. The composition suggests that Küchler was influenced by Renaissance pictures but the style and technique is representative of the Golden Age. In Küchler's picture, the scene from the tragedy is transformed into a version of the Passion of Christ through the use of Roman Catholic iconography; the names of the figures are in accordance with this tradition. The analysis leads to the interpretation that Kuchler's intention was to create a work of art loaded with religious significance and not just a scene from the tragedy. The painting ''A Roman Couple Buy a Hat for Their Little Son who is to Become an Abbate'' (1840) has also been interpreted in a religious fashion.

Relationship to Denmark

In 1877 he was awarded membership of the Royal Academy in Copenhagen and even a pension from Denmark. On several occasions, Küchler received visitors from Denmark while he lived at the monastery. These included members of the Royal family, fellow painters and writers.

In media and culture

* Küchler appears as a character in several novels as well as in a number of poems from the Danish Golden Age. * The contemporary Chinese artist Liu Ye has made a portrait of

which was based on Küchler's Andersen portrait from 1834. * In 2004-06 Küchler's painting of Christian Winther's girlfriend was the object of debate in Albanian newspapers, magazines and electronic media on her ethnicity. Some believed she was in fact Albanian, possibly from one of the Albanian villages in southern Italy, others that she is from the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...

of Lazio.

References

External links

Albert Küchler paintings
at Thorvaldsens Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuchler, Albert Danish expatriates in Italy 1803 births 1886 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Artists from Copenhagen Danish Friars Minor 19th-century Danish male artists