Ebba Regitze Ellida Olga Holm (1889–1967) was a Danish painter and engraver who is remembered in particular for her illustrations of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

''. She fostered close contacts with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, contributing to the Italian engraving journal ''Xilografia'' in the mid-1920s.

Biography

Born on 29 May 1889 in the

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

district of

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 ...

, Ebba Regitze Ellida Olga Holm was the daughter of the merchant Carl Gustav Adolf Holm (1865–1940) and Olga Marie Jensen (1867–1932). Influenced by her parents' interest in art and culture, she studied painting at Vilhelmine Bang's art school, entering the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts 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 ...

in 1908. Here she was introduced to traditional Danish painting under

Otto Bache Otto Bache (21 August 1839 – 28 June 1927) was a Danish Realist painter. Many of his works depict key events in Danish history. Biography At age eleven he received a dispensation and was admitted into the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, ...

Valdemar Irminger Valdemar Heinrich Nicolaus Irminger (29 December 1850 – 10 February 1938) was a Danish painter. Biography Born in Copenhagen, Irminger attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1867 and 1873. He went to Italy on a scholarship from 18 ...

and

Sigurd Wandel Sigurd Wandel (22 February 1875 – 3 June 1947) was a Danish painter who became director of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Biography Wandel was born in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of art collector Os ...

, while

Joakim Skovgaard Joakim Frederik Skovgaard (18 November 1856 – 9 March 1933) was a Danish painter. He is remembered above all for the frescos which decorate Viborg Cathedral. Biography Born in Copenhagen, from an early age he was trained in drawing and paintin ...

taught her fresco painting. She graduated as a painter in 1913. Holm travelled frequently, to Germany (1910–12 and 1931–32), Italy (several trips from 1913 to 1939) and France (1925 and 1929). In Italy, she studied old Italian painting and book art. Her works include a portrait of her sister (1914) and ''De tre Generationer'' (1918). She also painted landscapes and interiors. In Italy, she painted town scenes and mountainous landscapes. Holm was also active as a graphic artist, working for the journal ''Xilografia'' from 1924 to 1926. She executed 107 relief prints (

woodcuts Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

and linoleum cuts) between 1923 and 1928, reproductions of which were included in the Danish translation of the ''Divine Comedy'' in 1929. She contributed six woodcuts with

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

motifs to an exhibition on Franciscan art in

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...

in 1927. Her work was included in the Florence Lyceumi exhibition (1933) and the Exhibition of Graphic Art in London (1938). Ebba Holm died in Copenhagen on 30 November 1967.

References

External links

Examples of Holm's work from Artnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holm, Ebba 1889 births 1967 deaths Artists from Frederiksberg 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish engravers 20th-century Danish printmakers Graphic artists Danish women painters 20th-century Danish women artists 20th-century Danish artists Women engravers Danish women printmakers