Bertha Valerius - Drottning Josefine av Sverige

Aurora Valeria Albertina Valerius, known as Bertha (21 January 1824,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

– 24 March 1895, Stockholm), was a Swedish photographer and painter.''

Svenskt konstnärslexikon The ''Svenskt konstnärslexikon'' is a dictionary of Swedish art and artists that was published in five volumes by Allhems Förlag AB from 1952 to 1967.Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

, and Kristina Aurora Ingell. Her sister was the singer and painter Baroness

Adelaïde Leuhusen Amalia Aurora ''Adelaïde'' Leuhusen, née ''Valerius'' (1 December 1828 – 1923), was a Swedish baroness, painter and concert singer. She was a teacher and benefactor of the famous Swedish opera singer Christina Nilsson, whom she introduced t ...

. Beginning in 1849, she studied at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architec ...

and received a scholarship to study in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Upon her return, she entered a career as a portrait painter. In 1853 and 1856, she participated in exhibitions at the Academy. Later, she had the opportunity to accompany her sister and the opera singer

Kristina Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice of first three then two and a half octaves trai ...

to Paris, acting as her chaperone. During her second stay in Paris, she became interested in photography and, upon her return in 1862, she opened her own studio in Stockholm; soon becoming one of Stockholm's most notable photographers. In 1864, she was appointed official portrait artist of the Royal Court and produced 120 business cards for the Royal Family. At the exhibition in the

Kungsträdgården Kungsträdgården (Swedish language, Swedish for "King's Garden") is a park in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is colloquially known as ''Kungsan''. The park's central location and its outdoor cafés makes it one of the most popular hangouts ...

in 1866, she was awarded an honorary diploma. From 1868 to 1872, her studio was in the Hotel de la Croix in

Norrmalm Norrmalm is a city district in Stockholm, Sweden. History Norrmalm is part of the larger borough of Norrmalm (''Norrmalms stadsdelsområde''). The southern part of the district, Lower Norrmalm (''Nedre Norrmalm''), also known as City, const ...

. Sometime around 1880, she closed her studio and devoted herself to portrait painting. It was taken over by her colleague, the photographer

Selma Jacobsson Selma Ida Jacobsson (27 January 1841, in Stockholm – 30 March 1899, in Stockholm) was a Swedish photographer. Selma Jacobsson was born to the merchant Levi Abraham Jacobsson and Sally Pohl, the sister of the opera singer Agnes Jacobsson and t ...

, who was also appointed royal photographer, in 1899. One of her most popular, and often reproduced, images shows Jesus as a petitioner at the . She was involved in numerous charitable causes and, although not wealthy, donated over 150,000 Kronor to the needy over the course of her career. Her works may be seen at the Royal Academy,

Uppsala University Library The Uppsala University Library ( sv, Uppsala universitetsbibliotek) at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva. The library holds books an ...

, the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...

and the .

References

External links

Biography and appreciation
from '' Idun'' @ the archives of the Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek
Biography
@ the ''Lexikonett Amanda'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius, Bertha 1824 births 1895 deaths Swedish women photographers 19th-century Swedish photographers Pioneers of photography Swedish courtiers 19th-century women photographers

References

Further reading

External links