Lorenz Frølich (25 October 182025 October 1908) was a Danish painter, illustrator, graphic artist and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

Early life and education

Frølich was born into a wealthy bourgeouis family in Copenhagen. The son of Johan Jacob Frølich (1777-1858) and Pouline Wilhelmine Tutein (1789-1881). His father owned a successful trading firm in partnership with his brother. His mother was the daughter of

Friederich Tutein Johann Friederich Tutein (9 September 1757 – 6 March 1853) was a Danish merchant, ship-owner and industrialist. He managed the family's trading house under the name Fr. Tutein & Co. from 1799. It mainly traded on the Danish colonies with its ow ...

, another wealthy wholesaler and the Prussian consul in Copenhagen. Frølich's father and uncle owned the building at

Store Kongensgade 81 Store Kongensgade 81 is a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical property situated in Store Kongensgade between Frederiksgade and Hindegade, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The complex consists of a Neoclassical residential building from the 1780s fronti ...

. He lived with his parents in the apartment on the first floor. The uncle lived with his wife in the ground-floor apartment. The family belonged to the city's German reformed congregation. Frølich was fond of drawing from an early age. Another early influence was his father's maternal uncle,

Johan Conrad Spengler Johan may refer to: * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (1921 film), a Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (2005 film), a Dutch romantic comedy film * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Joh ...

, who in his capacity of inspector of Kunstkammeret was able to give him access to the royal galleries in

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace (, ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament (), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also ...

. He received instructions in drawing from

Martinus Rørbye Martinus Christian Wesseltoft Rørbye (; 17 May 1803 – 29 August 1848) was a Danish painter, known both for genre works and landscapes. He was a central figure of the Golden Age of Danish painting during the first half of the 19th century. T ...

from 1833 and later also from

Christen Købke Christen Schiellerup Købke (26 May 1810 – 7 February 1848) was a Danish painter, and one of the best-known artists from the Golden Age of Danish Painting. Childhood and early training He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was one of 11 ...

and

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig (now in Aabenraa Municipality, in the southern part of Jutland in Denmark). He went on to lay the foun ...

. He later continued his training abroad, first in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

under Eduard Julius Bendemann (1843–1846) and then in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under

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 ...

(1852–1853).

Career

Afterward he lived much in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and in Paris, where he constantly exhibited at the salons. In 1877 he was appointed

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

Royal Danish Academy of Art The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () 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 Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

, Copenhagen. His

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

s, especially of children's books, are known everywhere and are more important than his paintings. His daughter

Edma Frølich Edma Cornelia Vilhelmine Frølich Stage, also Edma Stage, (14 August 1859 – 3 November 1958) was a French-born, Danish painter who worked mainly in pastels. Biography Born in Fontainebleau, France, and brought up in Paris, Frølich was the dau ...

was his favorite model when a baby and a child for his French albums with

Pierre-Jules Hetzel Pierre-Jules Hetzel (; 15 January 1814 – 17 March 1886) was a French editor and publisher celebrated for his extraordinarily lavishly illustrated editions of Jules Verne's novels, highly prized by collectors. Biography Born in Chartres, Eure ...

. He also furnished original

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

s for (1853–1855) by ; (1845) and (1844) by

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam si ...

, and many other works. He painted a decoration in the Court of Appeals at

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, and in some public buildings of his native land. Danish painter and tapestry artist

Dagmar Olrik Dagmar Olrik (1860–1932) was a Danish painter and tapestry artist. She is remembered for her weaving and tapestry work, in particular for decorating a room in Copenhagen City Hall, Copenhagen's City Hall with tapestries based on cartoons of Nord ...

(1860–1932) and her assistants spent 18 years decorating a room in Copenhagen's City Hall with tapestries based on cartoons of Nordic mythology by Frølich.

Personal life

In 1855, he married Carolina (Lina) Charlotta in de Betou (1823–1872). They were the parents of painter

(1859–1958).

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor, and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he d ...

composed the (CNW 103) for Frølich's eightieth birthday, celebrated in Koncertpalæet,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, on 30 November 1900. Lorenz Frølich died in 1908 in

Hellerup Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compr ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Paintings

* ''King Harald Bluetooth'' (1840) * ''Cupid and the Water-Sprite'' (1845, Leipzig Museum) * ''Family of a Wood-God''

References

External links

The Lord's Prayer, Illustrated in a series of Etchings, 1863.
* ttp://www.germanicmythology.com/works/FROLICHART1.html Illustrations for Den Ældre Eddas Gudesange by Karl Gjellerup, 1895.* *
Eight stories illustrated by Lorenz Frølich in the Baldwin Library, University of Florida

Illustrations by Lorenz Frølich from manuscripts and early print books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frolich, Lorenz 1820 births 1908 deaths People from Gentofte Municipality 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters 19th-century Danish illustrators Danish children's book illustrators Danish fantasy artists Illustrators of fairy tales Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts 19th-century Danish male artists 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish illustrators 20th-century Danish male artists Danish Calvinist and Reformed Christians