Geskel Saloman (1 April 1821 in

Tønder Tønder (; german: Tondern ) is a town in the Region of Southern Denmark. With a population of 7,505 (as of 1 January 2022), it is the main town and the administrative seat of the Tønder Municipality. History The first mention of Tønder might ...

– July 5, 1902 in Båstad) was a Danish–Swedish portrait and genre painter. Soloman was one of the

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

's closest friends and painter of one of the three existing portraits of the founder of the Czech national music, then only 34 years old.

Life

Geskel Saloman (née Solomon) was the son of merchant Isak Soloman, who later became

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

of the Jewish community 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 ...

(1782–1848), and Veilchen Geskel (1787–1836). He had two brothers:

Siegfried Saloman Siegfried Saloman (born 2 October 1816 in Tønder, Denmark – died on 22 July 1899 in Dalarö, Sweden) was a Danish violinist and composer. A contemporary of Franz Liszt, he was a pupil of Johannes Frederik Fröhlich, Holger Simon Paulli, Fre ...

, a well-known violinist and composer, and Nota Salomon (1823–1885), chief medical officer in the Danish army. When his parents moved to Copenhagen, he entered the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, archite ...

, where he won the 1846 small silver medal. He was a pupil of Johan Ludwig Lund and has exhibited since 1843, among them the painter Conrad Christian Bøhndel portrait and Thomas Overskou portrait for which he won the ''Neuhausenske Præmier'' in 1848. Professor G

A short stay in Gothenburg led to him to become a resident in Sweden from 1850, where he received citizenship. In Gothenburg he enjoyed great reputation as a portrait painter, but also did some genre paintings which he partially exhibited in Copenhagen. He was also a character interested in giving drawing lessons, being offered a position as teacher in 1871 at the ''Göteborgs Musei Rit-och Målarskola'', now Konsthögskolan Valand; becoming a member of the Art Academy in Stockholm from 1874. There, he became professor at the academy and the royal portrait painter. After resigning from the academy, he became a highly sought portrait painter in Sweden, but performed ever greater tasks, partly in genre pictures and later in historical compositions, or rather what we call "the historical genre", preserving even in his old age his freshness in painting. One of his earlier works, ''En Væverske med sit Barn'', exhibited in Copenhagen in 1858, was given the honorable mention at the

Salon de Paris The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

, where he studied under the guidance of

Thomas Couture Thomas Couture (21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught such later luminaries of the art world as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge,Wilkinson, Burke. ''The Life and Works of A ...

between the years 1854-1855. From 1860 to 1863 he lived in the city of Algiers. Another older picture, news from the ''News from the Crimean War'' (1855), belongs to the Museum in Gothenburg, while ''A Young Girl With A Letter'' (1872) belongs to the National Museum in Stockholm. In decorative terms a very powerful image, though not weighty enough for content prize, ''The Home-Coming of the Victor'' (1881), was bestowed upon King

Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norwe ...

for his silver wedding anniversary. His latest work is the ''

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

and Dalkarlene'' (1886) and ''Marsk Stigs Daughters'' (1893), which belongs to the National Museum in Stockholm, and finally ''

Ahasuerus Ahasuerus ( ; , commonly ''Achashverosh'';; fa, اخشورش, Axšoreš; fa, label= New Persian, خشایار, Xašāyār; grc, Ξέρξης, Xérxēs. grc, label= Koine Greek, Ἀσουήρος, Asouḗros, in the Septuagint; la, Assue ...

and the Angel of Death'', exhibited 1896. Saloman was in 1855 married to Ida Jacobson (1828–1863) from Gothenburg, daughter of banker Morris Jacobson (1800–1870). He also appeared as a writer, especially in studies of

Venus de Milo The ''Venus de Milo'' (; el, Αφροδίτη της Μήλου, Afrodíti tis Mílou) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic period, sometime between 150 and 125 BC. It is one of the most famous works of ancient ...

Works

*''A Game of L'Hombre'' (1845) *''The First Violin Lesson'' (1846) *''The First-Born'' (1852) *''The Weaver Woman'' (1856) *''The Emigrants'' (1858) *''News from the Crimean War'' (1855) *''The Chicken Sacrifice'' (1862) *''A Young Girl with a Letter'' (1872) *''The Home-Coming of the Victor'' (1881) *''Gustavus Vasa and the Dalecarlians'' (1886) *''Marsk Stigs Daughters'' (1893) *''Ahasuerus and the Angel of Death'' (1896) *''The Blessing of the Sabbath Lights'' (1900)

Literary works

*''The Restoration of the

'', 1895, with plates *''The Sandalbinder: an Archaeological Essay'', 1885 *''The Statue of the Vatican or

Belvedere Apollo The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo, Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from Classical Antiquity. The ''Apollo'' is now thought to be an original Roman creation of Hadrianic ...

'', Central-druckerei, 1882

Gallery

File:Geskel Salomon 1872. Göteborgs konstmuseum STF 1978.JPG, ''Emigration'' (1872) File:Geskel Saloman - Kärleksbrevet.jpg, ''The Love Letter'' (1889) File:Smetana1854portrait.jpg, ''

'' (1837) File:Holmens bruk 1858 av Geskil Salomon.jpg, ''View of Holmen'' (1858)

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the Danish Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at th
History
section.''

External links

Geskel Saloman
Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon {{DEFAULTSORT:Saloman, Geskel People from Tønder Municipality 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters 1821 births 1902 deaths Danish Jews Jewish painters 19th-century Danish male artists