David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl (23 September 1628 – 23 October 1698) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

and

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

Biography

David Klöcker was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. He was the son of Johann Klöcker and had eight siblings. In 1648, Klöcker traveled to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

where he learned how to paint following the instructions from Juriaen Jacobsze (1624–1685). In 1652, he left his art studies in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and moved to Skokloster Castle (''Skoklosters slott'') on

Lake Mälaren A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

, Sweden at the request of Swedish nobleman

Carl Gustaf Wrangel '' Fältmarskalk'' Carl Gustaf Wrangel (also Carl Gustav von Wrangel; 23 December 1613 – 5 July 1676) was a Swedish Statesman and Military Commander who commanded the Swedish forces in the Thirty Years', Torstenson, Bremen, Second Nort ...

(1613–1676). Between 1654 and 1661 he studied in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and visited the courts of both

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. On his return he became entitled

Court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

(''hovkonterfejare'') in 1661. He was raised to the nobility in 1674 at which time he took the surname Ehrenstråhl. He became court intendant in 1690. He made portraits of, among others, King

Charles XI of Sweden Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...

Erik Dahlbergh '' Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 162516 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general and Field marshal. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. As an architect and draftsman, he was reno ...

Georg Stiernhielm Georg Stiernhielm (August 7, 1598 – April 22, 1672) was a Swedish civil servant, mathematician, linguist and poet. Life Stiernhielm was born on the family estate Gammelgården in the village Svartskär in Vika parish in Dalarna where his fathe ...

and Agneta Horn. Among his pupils can be found Mikael Dahl and David von Krafft as well as his daughter Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl . Ehrenstrahl also painted several ceilings and large wall pieces with allegoric motifs. The great hall ceiling fresco, named ''The Great Deeds of The Swedish Kings'', in the Swedish House of Knights (''Riddarhuspalatset'') made between 1670 and 1675, is considered to be his greatest work. A second version was made during 1695 on the ceiling of ''Ehrenstrahlsalongen'' (the Ehrenstrahl

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

) at

Drottningholm Palace The Drottningholm Palace ( sv, Drottningholms slott) is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Drottningholm is near the capital Stockholm. Built on the island Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), it is one of Sweden ...

, the home of the

Swedish Royal Family The Swedish royal family ( sv, Svenska kungafamiljen) since 1818 has consisted of members of the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. Today those who are recognized by the government are entitled to royal ti ...

. The center piece of the Drottningholm fresco also became the motive of the 1000th postage stamp designed by Polish postage stamp and banknote engraver Czesław Słania (1921-2005). The stamp was issued by the

PostNord Sverige PostNord Sverige (formerly ''Posten Aktiebolag, AB'') is the name of the Sweden, Swedish mail, postal service. In 2009 Posten merged with its Danish equivalent, Post Danmark A/S, forming PostNord, PostNord AB, a holding company that is jointly ow ...

in March 2000. Ehrenstrahl is also known for his proposal, in 1694, that:
''- "Art presents

riddle A riddle is a statement, question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requ ...

s that could not be solved by everyone".''

Personal life

Ehrenstrahl was married to Maria Momma in 1663. He was the father of artist Anna Maria Ehrenstrahl (1666–1729) and the uncle of painter David von Krafft. He died during 1698 in Stockholm.

References

Other sources

familysearch.org
Accessed August 6, 2008 1628 births 1698 deaths Artists from Hamburg German emigrants to Sweden German Baroque painters 17th-century Swedish painters Swedish portrait painters Swedish male painters Swedish nobility Court painters {{Sweden-painter-stub