Sophie Holten (1858–1930) was a Danish painter who created portraits, flower paintings and genre works. She is remembered in particular for her portraits of

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

and

L. A. Ring Laurits Andersen Ring (; 15 August 1854 – 10 September 1933) was one of the foremost Danish painters of the turn of the 20th century, who pioneered both symbolism and social realism in Denmark. Considered one of the masterpieces of Danish culture ...

. She was also active in social work and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Biography

Born on 12 August 1858 in Skuldelev,

Hornsherred Hornsherred () is a peninsula between Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It falls within the expanded Frederikssund municipality and includes Jægerspris and Skibby and before 1 January 2007 a part of Bramsn ...

, Sophie Holten was the daughter of the parish priest Hans Nicolai Holten (1829–71) and Marenstine Smith (1830-1913). She received private instruction in painting from

Christen Dalsgaard Christen Dalsgaard (30 October 1824 – 11 February 1907) was a Danish painter, a late student of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. Biography Early life and education Christen Dalsgaard was born on 30 October 1824. He was the son of the owne ...

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

and later from

Carl Thomsen Carl Christian Frederik Jacob Thomsen (6 April 1847 – 4 October 1912) was a Danish painter and illustrator. He specialized in genre painting and also illustrated the works of several Danish authors. Biography Born in Copenhagen, Thomsen was th ...

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 ...

. From 1875 to 1876, she attended

N. Zahle's School N. Zahle's School (Danish: N. Zahles Skole) is a private school located on Nørre Voldgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. Named after its founder, Natalie Zahle (1827–1913), it now consists of two independently run primary schools and a Gymnasium. Hi ...

. In 1879, she went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where she tried to assimilate the most modern methods of painting from teachers including

Félix-Joseph Barrias Félix-Joseph Barrias (13 September 1822 – 24 January 1907) was a French painter. He was well known in his day for his paintings of religious, historical or mythical subjects, but has now been largely forgotten. Artists who trained in his s ...

and Alfred Stevens. On returning to Denmark, she exhibited at the

Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg''). Kunsthal Charlottenborg ...

in 1883.

Sophie Holten ''circa'' 1883-1888. Photographer Johan Møller. Shortly afterwards, she returned to Paris, exhibiting in the

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 ...

(1886–87). In the 1890s, she travelled to the Nethlerlands, Germany, Italy, England and Greece. Holten exhibited her work at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...

at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago, Illinois. She continued to exhibit in Charlottenborg until 1904, presenting genre works, portraits and flower paintings. In addition to her portrait of Strindberg, her ''Brudstykke af Parthenons Cellefrise'' (1901) and her painting of the Erechtheion Temple (1904) attracted attention. As a young women, Holten exhibited confidence in her own abilities which encouraged her to avoid marriage. In the late 1880s, she wrote reviews of female artists in ''Kvinden og Samfundet'' which was published by the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peac ...

. She also lectured on clothing, calling for attire which would free women from their traditional role of the housewife. She was one of the driving forces behind the Copenhagen Women's Exhibition in 1895, supporting a proposal for a women's exhibition building (although this was not realized until 1936). In later life, after a period in

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...

, Italy, Holten became a Roman Catholic. Settling in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

with her friend Erikke Rosenørn-Lehn, she decorated the city's St Laurenti Church. For this work she received the

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...

award. She is buried in the churchyard of the city's Old Church of Our Lady

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holten, Sophie 1858 births 1930 deaths 19th-century Danish painters 19th-century Danish women artists 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish women artists Danish women painters

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

People from Frederikssund Municipality People from Roskilde