Erik Pauelsen (2 or 14 October 1749 – 20 February 1790) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

painter. He is most notable for his landscapes and was also a popular portraitist. However, he did not experience the same level of success as Jens Juel and

Nicolai Abildgaard Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen ...

, his contemporaries, and in 1790 he committed suicide.

Biography

Erik Pauelsen was born in Østerballe Parish in

Himmerland Himmerland is a peninsula in northeastern Jutland, Denmark. It is delimited to the north and the west by the Limfjord, to the east by the Kattegat, and to the south by the Mariager Fjord. The largest city is Aalborg; smaller towns include Hobro, A ...

some time between 2 and 14 October 1749. From an early age he had his mind set on becoming an artist. He travelled 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 ...

and studied at 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 ...

from 1770 to 1777 where he won the large silver medal and the small gold medal in 1775 and finally the large gold medal in 1777 together with the Academy's travel scholarship. He travelled to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

by way of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and visited

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on his way back. During his travels he became a member of several foreign art academies and was granted the title of professor in Düsseldorf. After his return to Denmark, he became a member of the art academy but was passed over for the post of professor by Jens Juel in 1784 and then again for the position of painter to the royal court by

Vigilius Eriksen Vigilius Eriksen (2 September 1722 in Copenhagen – 25 May 1782 in Rungstedgård) was a Danish painter. He was the royal portraitist to Christian VI of Denmark. Biography He initially studied under Johann Salomon Wahl. In 1755 he was awa ...

. For Pauelsen this could only be explained as a result of intrigue, and he became more and more embittered. He remained a popular portraitist and also enjoyed success as a landscape painter. From 1785 to 1786 he decorated a room in

Frédéric de Coninck Frédéric de Coninck (2 December 1740 – 4 September 1811) was a Dutch merchant and shipowner active in Copenhagen, Denmark. Biography Frédéric de Coninck was born at The Hague in the Netherlands. In 1763, he moved to Copenhagen to set up a f ...

's mansion on

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major stre ...

, now known as

Moltke's Mansion The Moltke's Mansion is a town mansion on the corner of Bredgade and Dronningens Tværgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of several town mansions in Frederiksstaden, although it actually predates the neighbourhood by half a century. It was bui ...

after a later owner. The decorations, murals and

overdoor An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...

s, presented scenes from the environs of Dronningegård, de Coninck's country house north of Copenhagen. In 1788 he travelled to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and brought back a series of landscape paintings which were acquired by the royal painting collections. However, he suffered from his feeling belittled and defeated by his peers and in 1790 he committed suicide by jumping out of a window in his home. Pauelsen is most notable for his landscapes. He visited Norway and painted ''

Sarpsfossen Sarp Falls ( no, Sarpefossen or ') is a waterfall at Sarpsborg in Viken, Norway. It is the second largest waterfall in Europe by discharge, after the Rhine Falls. This is the last waterfall on the Glomma River, which is the longest river in Norwa ...

'' (1789), now in the Danish National Gallery.

Works

Among those whose portraits he painted were

Johannes Ewald Johannes Ewald (18 November 174317 March 1781) was a Danish national dramatist, psalm writer and poet. The lyrics of a song from one of his plays are used for one of the Danish national anthems, ''Kong Christian stod ved højen mast'' which ...

(c. 1780, Frederiksborg Museum),

Søren Gyldendal Søren Gyldendal (12 April 1742 – 8 February 1802) was a Danish bookstore owner who founded Gyldendal which became Denmark's largest publishing house. Biography Søren Jensen Gyldendal was born at Aars in Vesthimmerland, Denmark. Gyldendal ...

and his wife (1780), and

Friederike Brun Friederike Brun, née ''Münther'' (3 June 1765 – 25 March 1835), was a Danish author and salonist. She was married to the affluent merchant Constantin Brun and during the Danish Golden Age of the first half of the 19th century she arranged l ...

with her daughter

Ida Brun Adelaide Caroline Johanne Brun (known as Ida Brun and later as Ida (de) Bombelles; 20 September 1792 – 23 November 1857) was a Danish singer, dancer, and classical mime artist in the genre known as mimoplastic art or "attitude". The literary sch ...

(1789). Image:Frederiksborg 1786 by Erik Pauelsen.jpg,

Frederiksborg Castle 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 ...

(1786) Image:Erik Pauelsen - Port of Copenhagen 1888.jpg, Port of Copenhagen viewed from

Nordre Toldbod Nordre Toldbod is a waterfront area in Copenhagen, Denmark, located at the north end of Larsens Plads and just south of Kastellet. It takes its name after the custom house or ''toldbod'' which used to be located in the area. Most of the historic ...

(1788) Image:Dronninggård (Erik Pauelsen).jpg,

Dronninggård Næsseslottet is an 18th-century country house located on the shores of lake Furesøen at Holte north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The name, which translates as "Peninsula House", is a reference to the buildings setting on a narrow peninsula which ...

References

External links

Erik Pauelsen
at

Kunstindeks Danmark ''Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon'' (Weilbach's Biographical Dictionary of Artists) is a Danish biographical dictionary of artists and architects. The current edition, which is also freely accessible online, contains the biographies of some 8,000 Danis ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pauelsen, Erik Danish painters 1749 births 1790 deaths Suicides by jumping in Denmark Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Painters who committed suicide