After first Communion (Carl Frithjof Smith, 1892)

Carl Frithjof Smith (5 April 1859 - 11 October 1917) was a Norwegian portrait and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

painter who spent his career in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Biography

Carl Frithjof Smith was born at Christiania, Norway. His father, Christian August Smith, was a

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...

. At the age of eighteen, he began working as a draftsman in the mechanical workshops of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. It was there that he took up painting in his spare time. In 1880, he applied for a state travel grant, but was rejected. Nevertheless, he left Norway and enrolled at the

Academy of Fine Arts, Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...

, where he studied until 1884, when he had his debut at the Autumn Exhibition at Christiania. His primary instructor there was the

painter

Ludwig von Löfftz Ludwig von Löfftz (21 June 1845 – 3 December 1910) was a German genre and landscape painter. Biography He was born at Darmstadt. He was a pupil of August von Kreling and Karl Raupp at Nuremberg, then of Wilhelm von Diez at the Academy of F ...

, who influenced him to focus on genre scenes as well. In 1890, he was called to be a professor at the

Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar The Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar (German:Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar) was founded on 1 October 1860, in Weimar, Germany, by a decree of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It existed until 1910, when i ...

, and remained there in that capacity until 1904. After his resignation, he continued to live in Weimar, as he had become a full member of the

Deutscher Künstlerbund The Deutscher Kuenstlerbund (Association of German Artists) was founded in 1903 the initiative of Count Harry Kessler, promoter of arts and artists, Alfred Lichtwark, director of the Hamburg Art Gallery and the famous painters Lovis Corinth, Ma ...

. He died at

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

in 1917. Perhaps his best known student was

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement. In the 1920 ...

. He won gold medals at exhibitions in Berlin in 1886 and 1891 (at the Internationalen Kunst-Ausstellung). He was also awarded a medal at the

Glaspalast (Munich) The ''Glaspalast'' (Glass Palace) was a glass and iron exhibition building located in the Old botanical garden - Munich in Munich modeled after The Crystal Palace in London. The Glaspalast opened for the first General German Industrial Exhibiti ...

and won the silver Staatsmedaille in Vienna at the Jubiläumsausstellung (1888). In addition, he held several showings at the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung in Berlin. His works were familiar throughout Germany and Sweden, but not in Norway, as he seldom exhibited there, despite making several extended trips home. On one of these trips, he did a portrait of the internationally known playwright,

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

Gallery

File:Smith-Beach.jpg, ''Young Woman Strolling on the Beach''
(1900) File:Smith-Meadow.jpg, ''Girls in the Meadow''
(circa 1900) File:Glaspalast München 1889 100.jpg, ''On the Meadow''
(1889)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frithjof Smith, Carl 1859 births 1917 deaths Artists from Oslo Norwegian emigrants to Germany 19th-century German painters 20th-century German painters 19th-century Norwegian painters 19th-century German male artists 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters German genre painters 20th-century German male artists 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian male artists

Biography

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links