Jacob Kornerup (19 November 1825 – 9 March 1913) 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 a ...

archeologist and painter who is remembered above all for discovering and restoring medieval frescos in Danish churches."Jacob Kornerup"
''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon''. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

Biography

Born into a well-to-do

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 ...

family, he matriculated from high school in Roskilde before attending the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

from 1847 to 1853, winning the Grand Silver Medal. He first painted portraits and landscapes but soon concentrated on

architectural painting Architectural painting (also Architecture painting) is a form of genre painting where the predominant focus lies on architecture, including both outdoor and interior views. While architecture was present in many of the earliest paintings and illumi ...

, influenced by study tours to

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

(1981) with

Johan Daniel Herholdt Johan Daniel Herholdt (13 August 1818 – 11 April 1902) was a Danish architect, professor and royal building inspector. He worked in the Historicist style and had a significant influence on Danish architecture during the second half of the 19th a ...

and to Germany, Dalmatia and Italy (1854–55) with

Ferdinand Meldahl Ferdinand Meldahl (16 March 1827 – 3 February 1908) was a Danish architect best known for the reconstruction of Frederiksborg Castle after the fire in 1859. Meldahl was one of the leading proponents of historicism in Denmark. Biography He was ...

. Painting was not however enough to satisfy him. As a child, he had shown interest in his home town, Roskilde. His acquaintance with the archeologist

Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (14 March 1821 – 15 August 1885) was a Danish archaeologist, historian and politician, who was the second director of the National Museum of Denmark (1865–1874). He played a key role in the foundation of scientifi ...

encouraged him to become involved in the restoration of historical buildings in collaboration with the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

, leading to hundreds of drawings and watercolors which are now in the museum's archives. His drawings of Jellinghøjene (the burial mounds of

Jelling Jelling is a railway town in Denmark with a population of 3,658 (1 January 2022), located in Jelling Parish, approximately 10 km northwest of Vejle. The town lies 105 metres above sea level. Location Jelling is located in Vejle municipalit ...

) which he drew while working with Worsaae and Christian Herbst can be seen in his ''Kongehøiene i Jellinge'' (1875).

Church frescos and historical monuments

Kornerup kalkmalerier sankt ibs kirke 1900

One of his foremost interests was in the preservation of Denmark's medieval church frescos in which he pioneered restoration work from 1862 to 1904, becoming one of the Denmark's central figures in the field. He uncovered murals in 80 churches across the land that had been whitewashed over after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

."Kornerups billedverden – Roskilde, rejser & restaureringer"
, Roskilde Museum. Retrieved 1 August 2013. While his restoration work did not meet today's exacting standards, it nonetheless benefitted from his artistic background and his growing knowledge of archeology. He also became an adviser in connection with the restoration of

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral ( da, Roskilde Domkirke), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is the most importan ...

when work started in the 1850s. Settling in Roskilde in 1855, he also took an active interest in the preservation of the city's other historic monuments.

Published works

In addition to contributions to periodicals and other works, Kornerup published the following:"Kornerup Jacob"
''Kraks Blå Bog'', 1910. Retrieved 1 August 2013. * ''Kongehøjene i Jellinge'' (1875) * ''Roskilde Domkirke'' (1877, in ''Danske Mindesmærker'') * ''Roskilde i gamle Dage'' (1892) * ''Skildringer fra Spanien'' (1863) * ''Roskilde Minder'' (1907)

Exhibitions

In 2013, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death,

Roskilde Museum Roskilde Museum is a local history museum based in Roskilde, Denmark. The museum, which is run by the municipalities of Roskilde, Frederikssund and Lejre, has eight separate branches. The main branch in Roskilde, on the corner of Sankt Olsgade and ...

presented an exhibition of Kornerup's art work.

Biography

Church frescos and historical monuments

Published works

Exhibitions

References

Further reading