Magnus von Wright (13 June 1805 – 5 July 1868) was a Swedish-Finnish painter and educator. In addition to bird illustrations, he was also known for his landscapes.

Biography

Magnus von Wright was born at the village of Haminalahti in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

, Finland. His ancestors included Scottish merchants who had settled in

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

during the 17th-Century. His father Henrik Magnus von Wright was a retired Major who owned the family estate, Haminalahden. He was the eldest in a family of nine surviving children. His brothers

Wilhelm von Wright Wilhelm von Wright (5 April 1810 – 2 July 1887) was a Swedish-Finnish painter and amateur naturalist. Biography Wilhelm von Wright was born at the village of Haminalahti in Kuopio, Finland. His ancestors included Scottish merchants who ...

(1810– 1887) and

Ferdinand von Wright Ferdinand von Wright (19 March 1822, Haminalahti, near Kuopio - 31 July 1906, Kuopio) was a Finnish painter (belonging to Swedish-speaking population of Finland) - He is best known for his landscapes and animal paintings, especially his detailed d ...

(1822-1906) also became artists. He attended high school in Turku Gymnasium from 1823–25. It was there that he first developed his interest in birds and, although not a university student, was able to join the scientific society ''Societas pro Fauna and Flora Fennica'' organized by

Carl Reinhold Sahlberg Carl Reinhold Sahlberg (January 22, 1779, Eura – October 18, 1860, Yläne) was a Finnish naturalist, primarily an entomologist specializing in beetles. He was the father of entomologist Reinhold Ferdinand Sahlberg (1811-1874), grandfather of ...

(1779-1860). From 1823 to 1825, he attended 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, architec ...

in Stockholm and studied privately with

Carl Johan Fahlcrantz Carl Johan Fahlcrantz (29 November 1774 - 29 November 1861) was a Swedish painter. Biography He was born in the Stora Tuna Parish of Dalarna, Sweden. He was the son of Johan Fahlcrantz and Gustafva De Brenner. His father was a vicar in Kungså ...

(1774-1861). He was also permitted to study the ornithological collection at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

.Helena Hätöne
"Magnus von Wright"
Lähteillä His first professional work came when he was asked to provide illustrations for ''Otava eli suomalaisia huvituksia'' (Stockholm: C. A. Gottlund. 1828), a three-volume compendium of Finnish culture and history, prepared and published by

Carl Axel Gottlund Carl Axel Gottlund (24 February 1796 in Ruotsinpyhtää – 20 April 1875 in Helsinki) was a Finland, Finnish explorer, collector of folklore, historian, cultural politician, linguist, philologist, translator, writer, publisher and lecturer of Fin ...

(1779–1860). After completing his work on ''Otava'', he was employed by Swedish ornithologist Nils Bonde. Assisted by his brother Wilhelm, he provided illustrations for the multi-volume ''Svenska Fåglar'' (Stockholm: C. von Scheele. 1828). Upon his return to Finland, he worked as a

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

for the land survey office. From 1845 to 1849, he was a

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...

at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

's Zoological Museum and taught drawing at the University from 1849 to 1868. In 1857, he made a study trip to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, where he created a series of

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

s. Two years later, he published his own work on Finnish birds. He also spent many years helping to reconstruct the botanical and zoological collections that had been destroyed in the

Great Fire of Turku The Great Fire of Turku ( fi, Turun palo, sv, Åbo brand and russian: Пожар Або) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned ...

. His paintings of Helsinki and its environs are considered to be of great historical value. In 1846, he was elected to the board of directors of the Finnish Art Association and held this position until his death in 1868 at Helsinki.

Gallery

Magnus von Wright - Strandlandskap från Lövö.jpg, ''Beach Landscape from Lövö'' Magnus von Wright - Honkolan kartano Urjalassa - A I 32 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg, ''Honkola Manor in

Urjala Urjala (; sv, Urjala, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, near the town of Forssa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring m ...

'' Föreningsbanken.jpg, ''Embankment'' Magnus von Wright, Maisema Punkaharjulta.jpg, ''Landscape from

Punkaharju Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the provinces of Finland, province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, reg ...

References

External links

More paintings and drawings by Magnus von Wright
@ the Kansallis Galleria
"Cultural Path in the Landscape of the Von Wright Brothers"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Magnus Von Finnish ornithologists 1805 births 1868 deaths People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish people of Scottish descent Swedish-speaking Finns Birds in art Landscape painters 19th-century Finnish painters Academic personnel of the University of Helsinki Finnish male painters 19th-century Finnish male artists Düsseldorf school of painting

Biography

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links