![Elias Brenner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Elias_Brenner.jpg)
Elias Brenner (18 April 1647 – 16 January 1717) was a Finnish born, Swedish artist, draftsman and
antiquarian.
He is especially known for his work as a portrait miniaturist and a
numismatist
A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...
.
Biography
Brenner was born in the parish of
Storkyro in
Ostrobothnia County
Ostrobothnia County (, ) was a county of the Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the ...
, Finland. He was one of twenty children born to vicar Isaacus Henrici Brennerus and Susanna Werenberg. He first went to school in
Nykarleby
Nykarleby (; fi, Uusikaarlepyy) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality is bilingual, with the majority speaking Swedish () and the minority Finnish ().
The largest employers in the to ...
and
Pori. In 1663, he was enrolled at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
where he first studied theology and later archeology. In 1668, he entered service as a draftsman in the Antiquity College (''Antikvitetskollegium'') which had been established at
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the c ...
by King
Gustav II Adolf
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
during 1667. He became a technical assistant and worked principally for
Johan Hadorph (1630–1693) who was director-general of the
Swedish National Heritage Board (''Riksantikvarieämbetet''). In 1673, he traveled along with Hadorph to join King
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721).
He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...
on his extended
Eriksgata
Eriksgata (i.e. "Erik's Road") is the tour traditionally taken in the Middle Ages by a newly-elected Swedish king through the important provinces of the realm to have his election confirmed by the local assemblies. The actual election took place ...
which included a trip to
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 ...
.
In 1672 he resigned from his position to engage as a
portrait miniaturist and conduct research as a numismatist.
He was appointed miniature painter at the
Royal Court of Sweden
The Royal Court of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga Hovstaterna) is the official name for the organisation ( royal households) that supports the monarch, and the royal house. The incumbent monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf, is head of the Royal Court.
The Royal ...
in 1677.
He continued to paint until his death in 1717.
In 1691, his great work on Swedish coins ''Thesaurus nummorum Sveo-Gothicorum'' was printed. In the following year on a limited scale it began to be spread by the government as a gift to dignitaries and professionals. Its reception was very good and the book was mentioned with praise in foreign press. Brenner was appointed an extraordinary member of the Swedish Antiquity College in 1692 and received a considerable annual subsidy for his job of "further elaboration and perfection". The following year he was appointed Assessor there with a government salary. A new amended edition of ''Thesaurus'' was issued fourteen years after Brenner's death by Nils Piping. The number of images had then increased from 431 to 574, and histories of Swedish coin collectors and their collections had been added.
Personal life
Brenner was married twice. In 1676, he married Erengerd Stamm (1656–1679). In 1680, he married Swedish writer, poet, and hostess
Sophia Elisabet Brenner (1659–1730). He died in
Stockholm during 1717 and was buried at
Riddarholm Church
Riddarholmen Church ( sv, Riddarholmskyrkan) is the church of the former medieval Greyfriars Monastery in Stockholm, Sweden. The church serves as the final resting place of most Swedish monarchs.
Riddarholmen Church is located on the island o ...
in
Stockholm.
Gallery
File:Elias Brenner - Portrait of a lady - S 212 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg, Portrait of a lady
File:Elias Brenner - Nicodemus Tessin the younger - S 456 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg, Nicodemus Tessin the younger
File:Okänd man (Elias Brenner) - Nationalmuseum - 24496.tif, Portrait of a man
File:Hartwick Losck (f 1655) (Elias Brenner) - Nationalmuseum - 24183.tif, Hartwick Losck
File:Elias Brenner - Bengt Oxenstierna - S-1991-194 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg, Bengt Oxenstierna
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenner, Elias
1647 births
1717 deaths
People from Isokyrö
People of the Swedish Empire
Numismatists
Swedish antiquarians
18th-century Swedish historians
Swedish engravers
17th-century Swedish painters
18th-century Swedish painters
18th-century Swedish male artists
Swedish portrait painters
Portrait miniaturists
Uppsala University alumni
17th-century Swedish historians