Johan Peter Raadsig (18 October 1806 – 1 July 1882) 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 ...

painter, dealing principally with themes from Danish and Scandinavian history.

Biography

Raadsig 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 ...

, Denmark. He was the son of Søren Christian Raadsig and Ellen Pouline Poulsen. His father was a

sailing master The master, or sailing master, is a historical rank for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel. The rank can be equated to a professional seaman and specialist in navigation, rather than as a military ...

who died when Peter was very young. His mother remarried and he was raised in Skjoldenæsholm. After his

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

, he was enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. While there, he was awarded several silver medals for his portraits and historical images and earned a reputation as a diligent painter. He first exhibited at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1830. The

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

acquired four of his works between 1833 and 1840. In 1838, he applied for travel support but, despite the recommendation of the Academy, was unsuccessful. He managed to travel some at his own expense. In 1841, he went to Rome, encouraged by some praise he had received from

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 ...

and

C.W. Eckersberg Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark. He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Dan ...

. He received no financial help, however, and had to live austerely. He managed to study in

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 ...

(1841–45) and in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(1845–46). When he returned, he was able to sell two more works to the Royal Collection. Raadsig was occupied with topics from Danish history, especially as it was perceived in contemporary literature. In 1850 Raadsig made the painting ''Ingolf tager Island i besiddelse'', depicting Ingólfr Arnarson, the first Norse settler of

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 ...

, newly arrived on the site of what would become Reykjavík, commanding his high seat pillars to be erected. The painting was made at the time when nationalist sentiment was rising in Iceland, a few years after the Icelanders' ancient general assembly, the

Alþingi The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

was re-established. The painting is currently on public display at Viðeyjarstofa in

Viðey Viðey (; sometimes anglicised as Videy) is the largest island of the Kollafjörður Bay in Iceland, near the capital of Reykjavík. Overview The island covers ; its highest point is above sea level. The island is divided by a narrow piece of ...

(an island near Reykjavík), where a plaque explains that it was a gift to the City of Reykjavík from Eimskipafélag Íslands on the occasion of the 200th birthday of Reykjavík (1986). He was awarded De Neuhausenske Præmier by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in connection with his work ''Vildttyve i forhør hos en birkedommer'' (1857). He never married or had children. He died in Copenhagen and was buried at Valsølille Kirkegård in Ringsted. His work is represented in the National Museum of Denmark in

and at museums in Aarhus and Skagen.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Raadsig.

Peter Raadsig
@ Kunstindeks Danmark {{DEFAULTSORT:Raadsig, Johan Peter 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters 1806 births 1882 deaths History painters Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Danish genre painters Artists from Copenhagen 19th-century Danish male artists