Johan Thomas Lundbye (1 September 1818 – 25 April 1848) 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 and graphic artist, known for his animal and

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...

s. He was inspired by

Niels Laurits Høyen Niels Laurits Andreas Høyen (4 June 1798 – 29 April 1870) is considered to be the first Danish art historian and critic. He promoted a Danish nationalistic art through his writings and lectures, and exerted a far reaching effect on contempo ...

's call to develop

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...

art through depictions of Denmark's characteristic landscapes; the historical buildings and monuments, and the country's simple, rural people. He became one of his generation's

national romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

painters, along with P. C. Skovgaard and Lorenz Frølich, to regularly depict the landscape 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 ...

Biography

He was born in Kalundborg on the island of

, Denmark. He was one of the sons of Joachim Theodor Lundbye (1778–1841) and Cathrine Bonnevie (1792–1863). He came from a military family and was the brother of Christen Carl Lundbye (1812–1873) and Emanuel Andreas Lundbye (1814–1903) both of whom served as Danish military officers. He was sickly as a child and moved with his family 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 ...

. The family later came to

Frederikssund Frederikssund () is a Danish town, seat of the Frederikssund Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden with a population of 16,850 (1 January 2022).Christian Holm (1804–1846) and at the age of 14 he came into the drawing school of Johan Ludwig Lund (1777–1867). In 1832, he came to the

Royal Danish Academy of Art 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 ...

, where he finished in 1842. He began exhibiting in 1835, and in 1839 he made '' En gravhøj fra oldtiden ved Raklev på Refsnæs'' (''An Ancient Burial Mound by Raklev on Refsnæs'' (1839) and his painting ''Parti af Dyrehaven med Hjorte og Hinde'' (''View of the Deer Park with Stag and Hind'') was purchased by '' Kunstforeningen'', the influential art society associated with art historian and critic

(1798–1870). In the years to come he would focus his painting on depicting landscapes. His large "''Kystparti ved Isefjord''" ("Coast View by Isefjord") was exhibited in 1843 and purchased by the Royal Painting Collection, now the Danish National Gallery (''Statens Museum for Kunst''). He illustrated ''Fabler for Børn: Et halvhundrede Billeder'' by poet Hans Vilhelm Kaalund (1818–1885), a book of poetry for young children published in 1845. He received a travel grant from the Academy in 1845, which was renewed a year later. On 5 June 1845 he left Denmark and traveled through Germany (Altona, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Mainz, Strasbourg), over the Rhine to Switzerland (Basel, Geneva) to France (Marseilles), and then to Italy, where he painted "''Oxer i den romerske Kampagne''" ("Oxen in the Roman Campagne"), which was exhibited in 1847 and purchased by the Royal Painting Collection. He returned to Denmark on 18 July 1846 after a year and half. He surprised his circle of friends and announced that he was going to live in the country for a year, and took a little farm near

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northe ...

. However, the First War of Schleswig, known in Denmark as the Three Years' War (''Treårskrigen''), broke out and in the spring of 1848 he enlisted in the army like many other young artists. He died eight days later on 26 April 1848 at the age of 29. There is some question as to whether he died from an accidental shot, or whether the chronically depressed artist took his own life.

References

External links

KID—Kunst Index Danmark
("Art Index Denmark")
Dansk biografisk Leksikion
("Danish Biographical Encyclopedia") {{DEFAULTSORT:Lundbye, Johan Thomas 1818 births 1848 deaths People from Kalundborg Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Danish landscape painters 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Deaths by firearm in Denmark 19th-century Danish male artists

Biography

See also

References

External links