Jacob Fortling (23 December 1711 – 16 July 1761) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

sculptor, architect and industrialist, described as one of the most industrious people in the Denmark of his day. He came to Denmark at age 18 and embarked on a successful career, first as a sculptor and later also as an architect. He was also engaged in the production of building materials, owning several quarries in Norway. Just outside

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

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

's east coast, he founded

Kastrup Værk Kastrup Værk (English: Kastrup Works) was a pottery and tile works in Kastrup, now a suburb of Copenhagen, on the Danish island of Amager. History Kastrup Værk was founded around 1750 by Jacob Fortling, a German sculptor who had emigrated to ...

, a large industrial facility combining a lime plant, a brickyard and a pottery.

Kastrupgård Kastrupgård is a former manor house in Kastrup, a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. Dating from the mid 18th century, it is now a museum housing the Kastrupgård Collection (''Kastrupgårdsamlingen'') of modern art, which is owned and operated by ...

, his former home, has been turned into an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

Biography

Early life and career as a sculptor

Fortling was born on 23 December 1711 in

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

in present day Germany. He trained as a mason and stone carver and came to Denmark to work on the many large Royal building projects under King

Christian VI Christian VI (30 November 1699 – 6 August 1746) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746. The eldest surviving son of Frederick IV and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, he is considered one of Denmark-Norway's more anonymous kings, bu ...

, collaborating with sculptors such as

Jacques Saly Jacques François Joseph Saly, also known as Jacques Saly (20 June 1717 – 4 May 1776), French-born sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Malta. He is commonly associated with his time in Denmark he served as Director of the Royal Danis ...

and

Simon Carl Stanley Simon Carl Stanley known in England as Charles Stanley (12 December 1703 – 17 February 1761) was a Danish sculptor of English parentage. Life He was born in Copenhagen on 12 December 1703 to English parents. As a boy he liked drawing and ...

. He executed the Queen's Staircase at

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

. In 1738 he received Danish citizenship and was in 1740 appointed Stone Carver to the Danish Court. In the 1740s he worked on

where his contributions included the Queen's Staircase. He also created the main staircases for

Ledreborg Palace Ledreborg is a palatial mansion near Lejre, to the southwest of Roskilde on the Danish island of Zealand. Today's Baroque building was completed in 1746 by Minister of State Johan Ludvig Holstein (1694–1763) who commissioned J.C. Krieger to c ...

and the

Holstein Mansion The Holstein Mansion is a Baroque style town mansion on Stormgade in central Copenhagen, Denmark. The history of the property dates back to the late 17th century but the name and current design of the building is from the 1750s when it was owne ...

in Copenhagen (1756). At the naval base at Holmen, he created the King's Gate.

Turn to architecture

Fortling collaborated closely with both

Lauritz de Thurah Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah (4 March 1706 – 5 September 1759), was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period. As an architectural writer ...

and

Nicolai Eigtved Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved (4 June 1701 – 7 June 1754) was a Danish architect. He introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo or late baroque style in Danish architecture during the 1730s–1740s. He designe ...

, the two leading Danish architects of the time, and finally completed his training as an architect. He assimilated Eigtved's refined Rococo style and, after Eigtved's death in 1754, became de Thurah's right-hand man. In 1756, he was appointed Royal Building Inspector for Copenhagen,

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

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

and, after de Thurah's death, he became Royal Building Master in 1760 but died the following year.

Quarries in Norway

Fortling also engaged in the production of building materials. In search of good quality stone, he made two journeys 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 ...

which was ruled by the Danish King and supplied many of the minerals used in the building industry in Denmark at that time. In 1744 he acquired royal privileges for two quarries, one at

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

and one at Lier, extracting marble and from 1849 also

talc Talc, or talcum, is a Clay minerals, clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thi ...

. In 1759 he also established a quarry at

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Activities at Kastrup

In Denmark, Fortling established a limestone quarry on

Saltholm Saltholm (; ''Salt Islet'') is a Danish island in the Øresund, the strait that separates Denmark and Sweden. It is located to the east of the Danish island of Amager in Tårnby municipality and lies just to the west of the sea border between D ...

, an island in

Øresund Øresund or Öresund (, ; da, Øresund ; sv, Öresund ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width v ...

off the coast of

, and opened a lime plant at

, with its own harbour on an artificial peninsula in 1749. He soon diversified with a brickyard (1752) and a pottery specializing in

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

(1755) at the same site. From 1749 to 1753, he also built Kastrupgåtf in the same area, a large country house and agricultural estate where he took up residence when it was completed. His business enterprises also included a distillery and a brewery.

Works

* Work on

, including the Queen's Staircase (1733–40, burnt 1794) * Decorative work on

, including main staircase (1743–50) * King's Gate at the Arsenalet at Holmen, Copenhagen (1745–47) * Town house (next to Barchmann Mansion), Ny Kongensgade, Copenhagen (after 1747) *

with harbour (1749–53) *

Kastrup Kastrup () is a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, on the east coast of Amager in Tårnby Municipality. It is the site of Copenhagen Airport. In Danish, the airport is often called ''Kastrup Lufthavn'' (Kastrup Airport) or ''Københavns Lufthavn, Kast ...

(1749–53) *

Lindencrone Mansion The Lindencrone Mansion (Danish language, Danish: Lindencrones Palæ) is a historic building located on the corner of Bredgade and Sankt Annæ Plads in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1753, it is one of many town mansions which were built ...

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 ...

Sankt Annæ Plads Sankt Annæ Plads (English: St. Ann's Square) is a public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and Frederiksstaden neighborhoods of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which extends inland from the waterfron ...

, Copenhagen (1751–54, attributed) * Portal for

Frederiksberg Gardens Frederiksberg Gardens (Danish: Frederiksberg Have) is one of the largest and most attractive greenspaces in Copenhagen, Denmark. Together with the adjacent Søndermarken it forms a green area of 64 hectares at the western edge of Inner Copenhagen. ...

(except the vases later added by

Johann Friedrich Hänel Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

) (1755) * Rebuilding of the Schack Mansion,

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Queen Magrethe ll lives here in winter and autumn. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors arou ...

, Copenhagen (1755–57, with Johan Boye Junge) * Extra floor and balustrade, vestibule and main staircase,

, Stormgade, Copenhagen (1756) * Decorative works,

Christian's Church Christians's Church ( da, Christianskirken) is a church in Aarhus, Denmark. The church is situated in the northern Christiansbjerg neighbourhood on Frederikshaldsgade. It is a parish church, and the only church in Christians Parish, under the Di ...

Christianshavn Christianshavn (literally, "ingChristian's Harbour") is a neighbourhood in Copenhagen, Denmark. Part of the Indre By District, it is located on several artificial islands between the islands of Zealand and Amager and separated from the rest of th ...

, Copenhagen (1755–59) * Tower at Gråbrødre Church, Viborg (1760) * Connabder's House,

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle ( da, Rosenborg Slot) is a renaissance architecture, renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV of Denmark, Christian IV's ...

, Copenhagen (1760) * Extra floor, Marshall's House,

Fredensborg Palace Fredensborg Palace ( da, Fredensborg Slot; ) is a palace located on the eastern shore of Lake Esrum (Danish, ''Esrum Sø'') in Fredensborg on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in Denmark. It is the Danish Royal Family’s spring and autumn ...

Fredensborg Fredensborg () is a railway town located in Fredensborg Municipality, North Zealand, some 30 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is most known for Fredensborg Palace, one of the official residences of the Danish Royal Family. As of 1 Janua ...

(1760–61) * Nesstofa at

Seltjarnarnes Seltjarnarnes () is a town in the Capital Region of Iceland. Seltjarnarnes is beside Reykjavik. It took on its current political form shortly after the Second World War and was formally created as a township in 1947. It is the smallest Icelandic ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortling, Jacob Danish architects Danish stonemasons 18th-century Danish sculptors 18th-century German male artists Danish industrialists Danish manufacturing businesspeople 18th-century Danish artists 18th-century Danish businesspeople German sculptors German male sculptors German emigrants to Denmark Naturalised citizens of Denmark 1711 births 1761 deaths Rococo architects