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. The most traveled of the Danish Golden Age painters, he traveled both north to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and south to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Greece and

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. He was also the first Danish painter to take to painting in

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

at the northern top of

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

, almost half a century before the thriving community of

Skagen Painters The Skagen Painters () were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scenic nature, local mi ...

formed and came to fame, through Michael Ancher, Anna Ancher and P.S. Krøyer.

Early life and education

Martinus Rørbye was born in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

on 17 May 1803 to Danish parents Ferdinand Henrik Rørbye and his wife Frederikke Eleonore Catherine de Stockfleth. Martinus was not inclined to schooling, but in 1820 started his studies at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts 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 ...

at 17 years of age. He studied under

Christian August Lorentzen Christian August Lorentzen (10 August 1749 – 8 May 1828) was a Danish painter. Early life and education Christian August Lorentzen was born in Sønderborg, Denmark. He was the son of Hans Peter Lorentzen and Maria Christina Hansdatter. His ...

and Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, a strong influence on a generation of artists during the

Danish Golden Age The Danish Golden Age () covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered from fires, Battle of Co ...

. Rørbye was a favorite student of Eckersberg, and they formed a close association. He took to Eckersberg's careful attention to nature and his strivings to capture details realistically. He was also greatly influenced by Lorentzen's use of color. He won the Academy's small silver medal in 1824, and the large silver medal in 1828. He competed for the gold medal and won a cash prize. In 1829 he won the small gold medal for his painting ''Christ healing the blind'', which remains in the ownership of the Royal Danish Academy. He never won the large gold medal in spite of repeated attempts. ''View from the Artist's Window'', is a painting by a young Rørbye around 1825, heralding the many travels he would later make with its depiction of a caged bird in an open window, on the border between the safety of his parents' home and the wide, unknown world represented by a berthed ship.

Early career

Rørbye first exhibited his paintings at Charlottenborg in 1824 and would do so almost every year until 1848. His works were modestly priced, and he found sufficient buyers for his pieces. The majority of his works in the 1820s consisted of views from Copenhagen and the island of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

, although he also painted a number of portraits including one of Lorentzen, his painting instructor. Twice, in 1830 and 1832, he traveled to Norway. On the first of these journeys he visited

on the way, a rare destination for painters at that time. On 31 May 1830 he went to

Århus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

on the paddle steamer ''Dania''. Another passenger on the ship was

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

and the two artists decided to travel together for a while. From Århus they went north, staying at the Rosenholm, Clausholm and Tjele estates. After that, Rørbye parted with Andersen, continuing to the remote and seldom-visited Thy province of north-western Jutland to visit relatives in

Thisted Thisted is a town in the municipality of Thisted in the North Denmark Region of Denmark. It has a population of 13,505 (1 January 2025)landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

s under the influence of Johan Christian Dahl and

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (; 5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic Landscape painting, landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation, whose often symbolic, and anti ...

Adventurous travels and later career

In 1834 Rørbye received a travel scholarship from the Academy on account of his talents as a

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

ist. He traveled by way of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and France to Rome, In Paris he met Peter Andreas Heiberg, August Bournonville and the French painter

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

. When he arrived in Rome, he joined the city's thriving Danish artists community which had

Bertel Thorvaldsen Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...

as its central figure. '' A Group of Danish Artists in Rome'', is a painting depicting the artist in Rome, painted by Constantin Hansen. Rørbye is number two from the left sitting behind Bindesbøll who is lying on the floor with a fez he often wore after their visit to

. Also appearing in the picture are the painter himself,

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 ...

, Küchler, Blunck and Jørgen Sonne, sitting on the table. In Italy he traveled to

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

, the Sabine Mountains, and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. The following year Rørbye traveled to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

accompanied by the architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll, one of the compatriots he had met in Rome. From there they continued to

in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, a rare adventure in those days. He sketched prodigiously during his travels.

Return to Denmark

In 1837 he returned home to Copenhagen. His excellent orientalist studies from these exotic locales brought him the Danish public's attention. The Academy, recognizing the excellence of his work during his travels, invited him to apply for membership by submitting a painting. His task was to create a Turkish folk scene. His motif came from a study of a ''Caravan near Smyrna''. It was finished in 1838 and he was unanimously voted into the Academy. His studies from Greece and Turkey continued to serve as the basis for his creative output. In this regard he admired the work of French painter

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (; 30 June 178917 January 1863) more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Early career Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famo ...

. That same year at the Spring Exhibition he received the Exhibition Medal, the first time it had been given out, for a painting of a scene outside the Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex, ''A Turkish notary witnesses a marriage contract''. Typical of Rørbye are the rich colours and careful attention to detail. He married Rose Frederikke Schiøtt on 29 August 1839. His health was not good, however, and that same autumn he traveled again to Italy in the hope of renewing his strength. He painted "''Torvet i Amalfi''" ("The plaza in Amalfi") during this stay, and it was exhibited in 1842. He returned home in 1841. He gave private painting lessons to Christen Dalsgaard, and in 1844 became professor at the Academy's school of modelling. His health deteriorated, and he died on 29 August 1848 in Copenhagen, leaving his young wife widowed and with several small children. She exhibited twelve of his paintings, mostly of Italian subjects, in 1849.

Works

He is remembered for his genre paintings, his landscapes and his architectural paintings, as well as for the many sketches he made during his numerous travels. He painted numerous scenes of life in Copenhagen, as well as large compositions showing Italian and Turkish landscapes and scenes of folk life. He painted few portraits. He was one of the most traveled of the Golden Age painters, and distinguished his artistic production by his interpretations of lands rarely explored at that time for their artistic motifs, as well as for his anecdotal genre paintings depicting the Copenhagen of his day.

Discovering Skagen

Rørbye visited

on three occasions, painting the local fishermen and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

environs. The first time was in 1833, the year before he set out on his travels to the Mediterranean area and almost half a century before the community of

formed in the town and came to fame. He returned to Skagen towards the end of his life, in the summers of 1847 and 1848. His painting of ''Men of Skagen on a summer evening in fair weather'' was one of the last he completed. His works appear in a number of Danish art museums, including the Danish National Gallery (''Statens Museum for Kunst''), the

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

, and the Hirschsprung Collection. File:Nørrevold mod Bellahøj - Martinus Rørbye.jpg, ''Nørrevold mod Bellahøj'', c. 1830 File:Martinus Rørbye - The Prison of Copenhagen - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Arrestbygningen ved råd- og domhuset'', 1831 File:Vester Egede Kirke (Rørbye).JPG, ''Vester Egede church'', 1832 File:Stavkirken Borgund (Rørbye).JPG, ''Stavkirken Borgund'', 1833 File:En loggia fra Procida.jpg, ''A loggia in Procida'', between 1834 and 1841 Image:Martinus Rørbye - Et skib på Skagens strand - 1847.jpg, '' A Large Ship Under Caulking at Frederikshavn'' Image:En Tyrkisk Notar, Som Afslutter En Aegtepagt (Martinus Rørbye).jpg, ''A Turkish notary drawing up a marriage contract'' the painting for which Rørbye won the Thorvaldsen Medal, 1837 File:Martinus Rorbye22.jpg, ''A horse carriage on the road'', c. 1840 File:Entrance to an Inn in the Praestegarden at Hillested LACMA M.2007.33.jpg, ''Ingangen til præstegården ved Hillested'', 1844 File:Stranden ved Skagen Vesterby.jpg, ''Stranden ved Skagen Vesterby'', 1847 File:Martinus rorbye fischer aus skagen im rettungsboot.jpg, ''Fishermen returning from the sea'', 1847 File:Stockholm Palace 1848.jpg, ''Stockholm Palace'', 1848 File:Mænd af Skagen en sommeraften i godt vejr.jpg, ''Men of Skagen on a summer evening in fair weather'', one of Rørbye's last paintings, painted in

in 1848

References

External links

KID Kunst Index Danmark ("Art Index Denmark")

Danish Biographical Encyclopedia ("''Dansk biografisk Leksikion''")Caspar David Friedrich: Moonwatchers
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Martinus Rørbye (no. 18)
Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rorbye, Martinus 1803 births 1848 deaths Danish genre painters Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Danish landscape painters People from Drammen Skagen Painters Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Burials at Holmen Cemetery 19th-century Danish male artists