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Johan Fredrik Höckert (26 August 1826 – 16 September 1866) was a well-known Swedish artist from
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...
known for his colorful, dramatic oil paintings depicting historical events. He is one of the most famous nineteenth-century painters in Sweden, and one of the painters most often associated with Swedish
national romanticism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
. Höckert studied at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...
from 1844 to 1845, and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich from 1846 to 1849. During the summer of 1850, he traveled throughout Lapland in the northern parts of Sweden. The scenery in this area became the inspiration for many of Höckert's upcoming paintings. After moving to Paris in 1851, Höckert made his first painting that gained attention from a larger audience, ''Drottning Kristina och Monaldeschi'' (English: ''Queen Christina and Monaldeschi''). It was awarded with a ''mention honorable'' at the
Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...
in 1853. Höckert rose to fame two years later, in 1855, with ''Gudstjänst i Lövmokks fjällkapell'' (English: ''Worship service in Lövmokk's fell chapel''). It was put on display at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris and was later bought by
Napoleon III of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of m ...
. At this time, Höckert became recognized as one of Sweden's foremost figure painters. Höckert's success continued and he made several popular paintings during the subsequent years. He was hired as a professor at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...
in 1864. At this time, Höckert was working on the painting ''Slottsbranden i Stockholm den 7 maj 1697'' (English: ''Castle fire in Stockholm on 7 Maj 1697''), which was displayed at the 1866 Scandinavian art fair in Stockholm. It is today regarded as one of Sweden's foremost paintings. Höckert died soon thereafter, on 16 September 1866, after several years of health issues. __TOC__


Early life

Höckert was born to his parents Gustaf Adolf Höckert and Sofia Elisabet Melinon on 26 August 1826 in Jönköping, Sweden. He received drawing lessons from teacher J. J. Ringdahl at the age of twelve. Ringdahl suspected already then that the young boy "would never become anything other than an artist". During his school years, Höckert became friends with Swedish painter Johan Christoffer Boklund, who he had met by coincidence. This led to Höckert quitting his normal school studies to study at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...
, where Boklund was a teacher. He studied at the school, which is located in Stockholm, from 1844 to 1845. During his final year at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, Höckert went on a study tour through Sweden, primarily in Jönköping. In 1846, after graduating, Höckert traveled with Boklund to
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
for further studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. For three years he studied there with eagerness, exploring
figure painting A figure painting is a work of fine art in any of the Painting#Painting media, painting media with the primary subject being the human figure, whether clothed or Nude (art), nude. Figure painting may also refer to the activity of creating such ...
and
genre works Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...
. Höckert's first oil painting, ''Två banditer, som dela rofvet'' (English: ''Two bandits, who shared the booty''), was sent to Sweden and offered to Konstförening (English: ''The Art Association''), but they did not buy it. After completing his studies in Munich in 1849, Höckert returned to Sweden in 1850. During the summer of that year, he traveled extensively throughout Lapland in the northern parts of Sweden. Höckert chose Lapland because he had been inspired by the lively descriptions botanic
Nils Johan Andersson Nils Johan Andersson (20 February 1821 Gärdserum, Småland, Sweden – 27 March 1880 Stockholm), was a Swedish botanist and traveller. He studied at Uppsala University between 1840-45 obtaining a DSc. On 30 September 1851 he accompanied the Swe ...
had made about the nature and people there.


Career


Early career

While studying in Munich, Höckert realized his passion for
historical painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bi ...
. He moved to Paris in 1851, and brought with him several sketches he had made depicting events in Swedish history from the two past centuries. While living in Paris, Höckert painted his first painting that gained attention from a larger audience. It was called ''Drottning Kristina och Monaldeschi'' (English: ''Queen Christina and Monaldeschi''), and pictured
Christina of Sweden Christina (; 18 December ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and ...
ordering her soldiers to kill Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi in
Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...
in 1657. The painting was awarded with a ''mention honorable'' at the
Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...
in 1853. Höckert made a brief visit to Sweden in 1854 to display the painting there. It was praised by many and he was given the honorary title of ''agré'' by the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Höckert was also given a travel scholarship by the Academy and he returned to Paris at the end of 1854. Although ''Drottning Kristina och Monaldeschi'' was popular, Höckert rose to fame in 1855 with his painting ''Gudstjänst i Lövmokks fjällkapell'' (English: ''Worship service in Lövmokk's fell chapel''). It was inspired by a sketch Höckert had made while traveling in Lapland, and he thought it would draw attention to itself. The painting was put on display at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris, and Höckert was awarded with a gold medal for it. French critics characterized it as a piece of French art, commenting that Höckert was most likely influenced by
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
and
Thomas Couture Thomas Couture (; 21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught many notable contemporary figures of the art world, such as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chava ...
. The painting was then bought by
Napoleon III of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of m ...
and was given to the art museum in Lille. Its current home is the National Museum of Arts in Sweden. At this time, Höckert became recognized as one of Sweden's foremost figure painters. The inspiration for many of the paintings Höckert painted while living in Paris came from his earlier travels in Lapland, including ''Gudstjänst i Lövmokks fjällkapell'' (1855), ''Scen från Lappmarken'' (1856), and ''Det inre af en lappkåta'' (1857). While painting ''Gudstjänt i Lövmokks fjällkapell'', which depicts a Lappish mother during a worship service in Lövmokk, Höckert hired an Italian woman named Luisiella as his
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...
. He fell in love with her, but she died in his arms during one of their painting sessions. This later became the inspiration for Höckert's
oil sketch An oil sketch or oil study is an artwork made primarily in oil paint in preparation for a larger, finished work. Originally these were created as preparatory studies or modelli, especially so as to gain approval for the design of a larger commiss ...
''Luisiellas död'' (English: ''Luisiella's death''). Höckert traveled to the Netherlands in 1856 to study
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
. He returned to Paris the same year and made another popular painting: ''Det inre af en lappkåta'' (English: ''The inside of a goahti''). This painting depicts a Lappish mother wagging her child in their
goahti A goahti (Northern Sámi), goahte (Lule Sámi), gåhte (Pite Sámi), gåhtie (Ume Sámi) or gåetie (Southern Sámi), (also ''gábma''), (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''gamme'', Finnish language, Finnish: ''kota'', Swedish language, Swedish: ...
home. It was awarded with a ''mention honorable'' at the Paris Salon in 1857, and was bought by the Swedish government to be displayed at the National Museum of Fine Arts. In 1862, it was displayed at the World's Fair in London.


Return to Sweden

After leaving Paris and traveling in Belgium, the Netherlands, and England, Höckert returned to Sweden in 1857. He soon became vice-professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, and begun work on his next painting: ''Brudfärd på Hornavan''. Höckert made this painting, depicting the lake Hornavan in Lapland, in a different style than he was used to. It featured brighter tones than his previous paintings, and depicted a more open landscape. ''Brudfärd på Hornavan'' was completed in 1858. Höckert began traveling through
Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...
later in 1858 to further his studies. While traveling in this part of Sweden, Höckert used the scenery around him as inspiration for his paintings, including ''Gustav Vasa och Tomt Margit'', which is now displayed at Utmelandsmonumentet in
Mora Mora may refer to: People * José Maria Mora (1847–1926), Cuban-American photographer, often credited as "Mora" * Mora (singer) (born 1996), a Puerto Rican singer * Mora (surname), a Spanish name (includes a list of people with the name) Plac ...
, Dalarna. Other paintings set in Dalarna include: ''Kulla med psalmbok'' (1859–60), ''Höskörd vid Siljan'', ''Rättvikskulla vid spiseln'' (1862), and ''Gudmors besök'' (1865).


Later career and death

Höckert left Sweden in 1861 and visited Spain, Italy, and Northern Africa. The following year, he participated at the World's Fair in London as a commissioner at the Swedish art section. Höckert returned to Sweden in 1862. That year he became one of the founding members of
Sällskapet Idun is a Swedish association for men, founded in 1862 in Stockholm. Founding Sällskapet Idun traces its founding back to 22 November 1862 at the Hotel Fenix in Stockholm, Sweden. Its founders consisted of Edward Bergh and Johan Fredrik Höcke ...
, a men's association. He was hired as an art director at the
Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
in Stockholm in 1863 and became a professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in 1864. Around this time, he completed the painting ''Bellman i Sergels atelier''. From 1864 to 1865, Höckert also provided illustrations (and political caricatures) for the newly established magazine ''Ny illustrerad tidning''. In 1863, Höckert was commissioned by the count of Trolleholm Castle to paint a large painting (''Slottsbranden i Stockholm den 7 maj 1697'') depicting the fire that destroyed the castle Tre Kronor in 1697. The painting was large and time consuming, and Höckert made a break from it while making a trip to
Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...
in 1865. During this trip, he made several sketches for paintings that he was planning on doing. When Höckert returned from his trip, the count of Trolleholm Castle did no longer want the ''Slottsbranden i Stockholm den 7 maj 1697'' painting. As a result, Höckert made a quick effort to get it finished for the 1866 Scandinavian art fair in Stockholm instead. The painting was displayed and, despite its uncompleted state, made a large impression. The judges at the fair awarded Höckert with one of the six gold medals. ''Slottsbranden i Stockholm den 7 maj 1697'' is today regarded as one of Sweden's foremost paintings. The painting was later displayed in Paris and Philadelphia in 1867, before being bought by Höckert's heirs in 1883 and given to its current home at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Sweden. During the 1860s, Höckert was experiencing health issues. He spent the summer of 1866 in
Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histo ...
, and while returning home to Stockholm, he had to stop in Gothenburg because of his illness. Höckert died in Gothenburg on 16 September 1866. Following his death, he has become one of the most famous nineteenth-century painters in Sweden, and he is one of the painters most often associated with Swedish
national romanticism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
. The authors of ''
Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...
'' write that Höckert's work has influenced many Swedish artists since then.


References

''This article incorporates text from''
Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon'' () is a compact Sweden, Swedish dictionary of biography first published in 1873–1876 by the physician and antiquarian Herman Hofberg (1823–1883). The second, updated edition was published in 1906, under th ...
and
Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...
, ''two publications now in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hockert, Johan Fredrik 19th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters 1826 births 1866 deaths Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni People from Jönköping 19th-century painters of historical subjects 19th-century Swedish male artists Artists from Jönköping County