Frederik Ferdinand Friis (16 December 1793 - 18 March 1865) 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 ance ...

architect, professor and Royal Building Inspector. His most important work is the Horsens State Prison.

Early life and education

Frederik Ferdinand Friis 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 ...

on 16 December 1793 to master builder and fountain master Peder Friis and Henriette Johanne née West. He was admitted to 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 1814. He won small and large silver medals in 1815 and 1817, the small gold medal in 1821 for ''A military academy'', and finally the large gold medal for ''A custom house'' in 1825. He was articled to

Peder Malling Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek '' petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new n ...

from 1822 to 1827 where he was responsible for the construction of the new main building for

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy (Danish, ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

after the old one had been destroyed in a fire.

Rome and Bertel Thorvaldsen

In 1828, Friis 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 ...

where he stayed until 1830. There he was received by

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 ...

, a friend of Friis' parents, and assisted

Just Mathias Thiele Justin Mathias Thiele (13 December 1795 – 9 November 1874) was a Danish scholar and librarian. A central personage during the Danish Golden Age, he contributed to Danish cultural life in a number of capacities. He collected and published Danish ...

who, in the late 1820s, was collecting material for his large four-volume Thorvaldsen biography. Friis interviewed Thorvaldsen about several details regarding his life and oeuvre and reported back to Thiele in Copenhagen. Later, in 1839, Friis also became a member of the Thorvaldsen Museum Building Commission.

Career

After his return to Denmark in 1831, Friis was appointed Royal Building Inspector of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

and in 1850 for Copenhagen, Frederiksborg,

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 29,608 (1 January 2022).Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

counties.

At the Academy

He became a member of the Art Academy in Copenhagen in 1833. A titular professor in 1852, he applied unsuccessfully for vacant positions as professor in 1855 and 1856. He was in residency at Charlottenborg from 1856 and was vice-director of the Art Academy from 1857.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friis, Frederik Ferdinand Architects from Copenhagen 1793 births 1865 deaths Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni