Christen Schiellerup Købke (26 May 1810 – 7 February 1848) was a Danish painter, and one of the best known artists from the

Golden Age of Danish Painting The Danish Golden Age ( da, Den danske guldalder) covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered ...

Childhood and early training

He was born 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 ...

, Denmark. He was one of 11 children born to Peter Berend Købke (1771-1843) and Cecilie Margrethe Petersen (1778-1867). In 1815 the family moved to Kastellet, a military fortification area in Copenhagen, where his father was head baker. At the age of 11 he suffered from a bout of

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful jo ...

. He made many drawings during his convalescence and decided that he would become an artist. In 1822 at 12 years of age he started his studies at

Royal Danish Academy of Art The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

(''Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi''). He studied first in the drawing class of

Christian August Lorentzen Christian August Lorentzen (10 August 1749 – 8 May 1828) was a Danish painter. Early life and education Christian August Lorentzen was born in Sønderborg, Denmark. He was the son of Hans Peter Lorentzen and Maria Christina Hansdatter. His ...

(1749–1828) and finally 4 years under

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark. He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Dani ...

(1783–1853) after Lorentzen's death in 1828. Eckersberg stressed observance of nature, and Købke's talent grew under Eckersberg's disciplined training. Eckersberg's influence is readily seen in Købke's first mature work "''Parti af Århus Domkirke''" painted in 1829. The painting was purchased by the Art Union (''Kunstforening'') and is now in the collection of the National Art Museum (''Statens Museum for Kunst''). He received the academy's small silver medallion in 1831 and a large silver medallion in 1833.

Early career

He lived in Kastellet until 1833 and made many paintings of the area. His painting "''Gården ved bageriet i Kastellet''" (ca. 1832) hangs in the

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

museum in Copenhagen. In 1832 he shared a studio with his friend, landscape painter Frederik Hansen Sødring (1809–1862). He painted a portrait of Sødring which now hangs in the

Hirschsprung Collection The Hirschsprung Collection ( Danish: Den Hirschsprungske Samling) is an art museum located on Stockholmsgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in a parkland setting in Østre Anlæg, near the Danish National Gallery, and houses a large coll ...

. In 1834 he moved, along with his parents, outside of Copenhagen's fortifications near Sortedam Lake (''Sortedamssøen''). He painted many views overlooking the lake towards the city and the embankments surrounding the city. His work became larger, more monumental. Like many of his contemporary artists he came under the influence of art historian Niels Lauritz Høyen (1798–1870), who promoted a nationalistic art. Høyen called for artists to search for subject matter in the folk life of their country instead of searching for themes in other lands, such as Italy (which was at that time considered a requirement for an artist's training). On a visit to

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 35,357 (1 January 2022)Frederiksborg Palace Frederiksborg Castle ( da, Frederiksborg Slot) is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II ...

, ''Frederiksborg Slot ved Aftenbelysning'' (1835). At the end of 1837 he married Susanna Cecilie

Krohn Krohn is the surname of several people: * Aino Krohn, a Finnish author better known as Aino Kallas * August David Krohn, a Russian zoologist * Chester A. Krohn, American politician * , a German Federal Court Justice * Felix Krohn, Finnish compose ...

(1810–1849), and shortly afterwards painted a portrait of his young bride.

Travel to Italy

In 1838 he received a travel stipend from the academy, left his new wife and traveled via Dresden and Munich to Italy accompanied by decorative painter

Georg Hilker Georg Hilker (5 June 1807 – 13 January 1875) was a Danish decorative painter active during the Danish Golden Age in the first half of the 19th century. He collaborated with painter Constantin Hansen (1804–1880). Early life and career Hilk ...

(1807–1875). They arrived in Rome by year's end where he met his brother-in-law, sculptor and medallionist, Frederik Christopher Krohn (1806–1883) and many other Danish artists. He traveled, along with

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 hist ...

(1804–1880) the following summer to Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri where he painted out in the open air.

Return to Denmark

Havetrappen ved kunstnerens malestue på Blegdammen

He returned home in 1840 with a large collection of sketches for later use and inspiration. Unfortunately, most of his later work with these Italian themes was uninspired, and they found little favor. Købke even considered at the time becoming a decorator, having participated in 1844–1845 in the decoration of the

Thorvaldsen Museum The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The museum is locat ...

in Copenhagen, which is dedicated to the artistic works of neo-classicistical sculptor

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

(1770–1844). Two years after his father died in 1843, the family sold the property outside Copenhagen, and Købke moved back into the city. His application for admission to the academy, which was accompanied by one of his failed Italian landscapes, was rejected in 1846. He died in 1848 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, and is buried in Assistens Kirkegård.

Aftermath

Købke, a

national romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

, painted

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

s and

architectural painting Architectural painting (also Architecture painting) is a form of genre painting where the predominant focus lies on architecture, including both outdoor and interior views. While architecture was present in many of the earliest paintings and illumi ...

s. Most of Købke's portraits show friends, family members and fellow artists. He found most of his motifs in his immediate surroundings. Now he is recognized internationally for his well composed and harmonic paintings, for their coloristic qualities and for his sense of the everyday life. But in his lifetime he was almost forgotten, especially because of his early death and limited production. Despite his talent and the praise of various contemporaries, Købke had never been inundated with commissions. Købke is recognized today as one of the most talented among Denmark's Golden Age painters and the most internationally renowned Danish painter of his generation. The painterly interpretations he made of his surroundings stand as high points of the period. His works are in the collections of not only Danish museums but also such international museums as the J. Paul Getty Museum

and the

Scottish National Gallery The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Works

File:Christen Købke - View of Østerbro from Dosseringen.jpg, ''View of Østerbro from Dosseringen'' (1838) File:Valdemar Hjartvar Købke (1813–1893).jpg, ''Valdemar Hjartvar Købke'' (ca. 1838)

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

File:Christen Købke - Autumn Morning on Lake Sortedam.jpg, '' Efterårsmorgen ved Sortedamssøen'' (1838)

File:Christen Købke - View of a Street in Østerbro outside Copenhagen. Morning Light - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Parti af Østerbro i morgenbelysning'' (1836)

Statens Museum for Kunst 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 ...

Image:Kobke-Frederiksborg.png, ''Frederiksborg Slot ved Aftenbelysning'' (1835) File:Christen Købke - A View from Dosseringen near the Sortedam Lake Looking towards the Suburb Nørrebro outside Copenhage... - Google Art Project.jpg, '' View from Dosseringen near the Sortedam Lake'' (1838) File:Christen Købke - Autumn Landscape. Frederiksborg Castle in the Middle Distance - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Frederiksborg Castle in the Middle Distance'' (1837–38) File:Christen Købke - The North Gate of the Citadel - Google Art Project.jpg, ''North Gate of the Citadel'' (1834)

References

Other sources

*David Jackson; Kasper Monrad (2010) ''Christen Købke, Danish Master of Light'' (Yale University Press) *Kasper Monrad; Philip Conisbee; Bjarne Jornaes (1993) ''The Golden Age of Danish Painting'' (Hudson Hills Press)

External links

Christen Købke: Great Dane
article from

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

KID Kunst Index Danmark ("Art Index Denmark")

Danish Biographical Encyclopedia ("''Dansk biografisk Leksikion''")

Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobke, Christen Danish portrait painters 1810 births 1848 deaths Artists from Copenhagen Danish landscape painters Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Deaths from pneumonia in Denmark Burials at Assistens Cemetery (Copenhagen) 19th-century Danish male artists