Johanna Marie Fosie (24 March 1726 – 23 August 1764) was a Danish painter, the first professional native female artist in Denmark.

Biography

Fosie was the daughter of Anna Dorothea Ilsøe and the painter

Jacob Fosie Jacob Fosie (1679 – 1 December 1763) was a Danish artist, watercolor painter, etcher, engraver, organist and author. Early life Fosie was born in Copenhagen, of English descent. He was a student of Hendrick Krock. He painted landscapes ...

, who was a teacher in drawing from his home. She learned to paint from her father, together with her siblings Michael Fosie and Elisabeth Fosie. Johanna was the most talented of the siblings, and she signed and published illustrations in her father's drawing book in 1741. Fosie lived in her parents' home until her marriage. Her parents held a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

for artists in their home. Among the most frequent guests were the artists

Johan Martin Preisler Johan Martin Preisler (14 March 1715 in Nuremberg – 17 November 1794 in Copenhagen) was a German engraver, most notable for his work in Denmark where he was professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He was the grandson of the pain ...

, Gustav de Lode and Michael Keyl, the painters

Johan Hörner Johan Hörner (28 January 1711, Edebo, in Roslagen - 4 March 1763, Copenhagen) was a Swedish-born Danish portrait painter. Biography He began his studies with Johan Henrik Scheffel in Stockholm and worked there for a time.Carl Gustaf Pilo Carl Gustaf Pilo (5 March 1711 – 2 March 1793) was a Swedish artist and painter. Pilo worked extensively in Denmark as a painter to the Danish Royal Court and as professor and director at the Royal Danish Academy of Art ( da, Det Kongel ...

, the sculptor

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 ...

, the poet Christian Frederik Wadskiær and several other writers. In her parents' salon, she became a celebrated artist, was introduced into influential circles, and made many of her drawings and paintings there. She was particularly close to Johan Hörner, who painted her with a pencil in her study, illustrating her as the first female artist in Denmark; he also painted her brother and later her husband. Hörner seemed to have had an influence in her art. In 1757, she gave a

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

oil painting as a gift to the king. In 1758, she married the vicar Jens Eriksen Westengaard. After her marriage, her activity as an artist lessened, but she did not stop altogether. Of her drawings, several are preserved in Kobberstiksamlingen, on Rosenborg, in Kunstindustrimuseet and in private collections.

References

1726 births Danish women painters 1764 deaths 18th-century Danish painters 18th-century Danish women artists {{Denmark-painter-stub

Biography

See also

References