Carl Christian von Seydewitz (3 November 1777 – 10 October 1857) was a Danish-German portrait painter and army officer. He was not a member of the nobility but, from 1770 to 1860, officers were allowed to use "von" with their surnames.

Biography

von Seydewitz was born in

Nortorf Nortorf is a town in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately 13 km northwest of Neumünster, and 25 km southwest of Kiel. Geography The location of Nortorf is south of the municipalit ...

, Denmark. He was the son of Johann Christoph Heinrich von Seydewitz (1748-1824) and Magdalena Maria Ralfs. His father was an architect and builder in the rural districts of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

. He followed his older brother, into the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

when he was only fourteen. In 1796, became a fændrik (roughly equivalent to ensign) à la suite in the Schleswig Regiment. He was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1804 and Captain in 1810. In 1816, due to cutbacks in troop strength, he was mustered out with the rank of Major. Hannemarie Ragn Jensen
Carl Christian Seydewitz, biography
Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon Despite his choice of a military career, he always had a desire to be an artist. Around 1800, after some opposition by Crown Prince (later King) Frederick, he was allowed to attend classes at satellite schools of the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

. In 1803, he was awarded money from the Fonden ad usus publicos, a fund for the support of artistic and scientific endeavors. Normally, this would be used for study abroad, but he was compelled to use it locally. Later he received an additional grant and was allowed to study in Italy, where he was influenced by the works of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

. However, after the English Wars broke out in 1807, official duties occupied most of his time. In 1814 he became a Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

. Two years later, He married Sophie Amalie Møller (1792-1863). In 1817, now a retired Major, he began to paint in earnest. His first major work was done for the Palace Building Commission. He was paid well, but his work was judged by the Royal Academy to be of little artistic value. King Frederick, wanting to make amends for his earlier opposition, ordered a large number of pieces; not only for the Royal palaces, but for church altarpieces as well. Nineteen of these went into the Royal Collection (now the

National Gallery of Denmark The National Gallery of Denmark ( da, Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as "SMK", literally State Museum for Art) is the Danish national gallery, located in the centre of Copenhagen. The museum collects, registers, maintains, researches and han ...

). Many were lost during the devastating fire at

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

in 1884. He died in 1857 and was buried at

Garnisons Cemetery Garrison Cemetery (Danish: Garnisons Kirkegård) is a cemetery in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was inaugurated in 1671 on a site just outside the Eastern City Gate, as a military cemetery complementing the naval Holmens Cemetery which had been inaugura ...

(''Garnisons Kirkegård'') in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

References

External links

More works by Seydewitz
@ Europeana Collections {{DEFAULTSORT:Seydewitz, Carl Christian 1777 births 1857 deaths 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters German male painters Danish portrait painters German portrait painters Religious artists Danish military personnel People from Rendsburg-Eckernförde Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 19th-century Danish male artists 19th-century German male artists