Olof Johan Södermark (11 March 1790 – 15 October 1848) was a Swedish military officer, painter, graphic artist and sculptor. His son, Per Södermark, was also a well-known painter and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

Biography

He was born in

Landskrona Landskrona is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona to the island of Ven, an ...

. In 1808, he became an

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word '' Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 19 ...

with the Field Measurement Corps, and was primarily involved in

cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

. Later, he became an

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

to Lieutenant General . In 1813, he accompanied the Swedish Army to Germany, where he was involved in the battles of Grossbeeren and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. He was later transferred to Norway and was wounded twice. He received a medal for bravery and became a Major in 1816. After a long period of service with Count

Carl Carlsson Mörner Carl Carlsson Mörner (1 December 1755 in Jönköping – 24 June 1821 in Stockholm) was a Swedish nobleman, officer, and politician. After rising through the ranks after being accepted as a cadet in 1771, he was made field marshal in 181 ...

, he was commissioned to study the site for the proposed Karlsborg Fortress, draft plans, and participate in its construction. From 1820 to 1824, he did some of his first independent, paid work; making etchings of monuments, which were published in the literary journal, '' Iduna''. He then left Sweden, with the intention of becoming an artist. Initially, he visited Paris, where he copied works in the museums, then went to Rome, where he lived with the sculptor, Johan Niclas Byström, who had invited him there. Under his guidance, and that of Bengt Erland Fogelberg, he studied sculpture, but eventually decided to switch to portrait painting. He remained in Rome until 1828. He had been participating in exhibitions at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts since early in his military career, but his formal debut came at the exhibition of 1829. That same year, he became a teacher of

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

at the

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg (, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urb ...

.Biography
from the ''

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 ...

'' @

Projekt Runeberg Project Runeberg () is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded by Lars Aronsson and ...

In 1832 and 1833, he painted portraits of members of the Royal Family. After that, he resigned from the to devote all his time to painting. Thanks to a travel scholarship, he was able to spend much of the 1830s travelling; to Paris, Rome, Munich and London. He painted portraits of notable people at every stop. In 1841, he made his final trip, after which he lived in Stockholm until his death in 1848. His famous sitters included King

Charles XIV John of Sweden Charles XIV John (; 26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John () and before he became royalty in ...

Jöns Jacob Berzelius Baron Jöns Jacob Berzelius (; 20 August 1779 – 7 August 1848) was a Swedish chemist. Berzelius is considered, along with Robert Boyle, John Dalton, and Antoine Lavoisier, to be one of the founders of modern chemistry. Berzelius became a memb ...

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria Lind (Madame Goldschmidt) (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in ...

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, , ), was a French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' ('' T ...

and

Josephine of Leuchtenberg Josephine of Leuchtenberg (Joséphine Maximilienne Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais; 14 March 1807 – 7 June 1876), also Josefina, was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 to 8 July 1859 as the wife of King Oscar I. She was also Pri ...

References

External links

More works by Södermark
@ ArtNet

@

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sodermark, Olof 1790 births 1848 deaths Swedish painters Swedish portrait painters Swedish cartographers Swedish Army officers People from Landskrona Artists from Skåne County

Biography

References

Further reading

External links