Ferdinand Richardt
Encyclopedia
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
known for his lithographs of manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
s, and in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for his paintings of Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
and other landscapes.
Life
Ferdinand Richardt, the son of Johan Joachim Richardt and Johanne Frederikke née Bohse, was born in BredeBrede
Brede is the name for several places, among others:* the River Brede in East Sussex, England* Brede, East Sussex, a village near the River Brede* Brede, Denmark, a suburb of the Lyngby-Taarbæk municipality...
, north of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
in 1819. His father ran the inn/company store at the Brede factory. In 1832 the family relocated to nearby Ørholm to operate the inn at the paper-factory there. In 1839, they moved to Copenhagen.
Ferdinand became briefly a carpenter's apprentice in 1835, but soon decided on a career in fine art, following the lead of his brother Carl. Beginning in 1836 Ferdinand studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art
Royal Danish Academy of Art
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts has provided a practice-oriented complement to the scholarly investigation of the arts carried out at Danish universities for more than 250 years, playing a crucial part in the development of the distinctive tradition of the art of Denmark.- History :The Royal...
under the architect and designer Gustav Friedrich Hetsch
Gustav Friedrich Hetsch
Gustav Friedrich Hetsch was a German-born, Danish architect.Hetsch was born in Stuttgart and studied at the University of Tübingen and in Paris, where his teacher was Charles Percier. After finishing his studies, he worked for Jean-Baptiste Rondelet on the Church of Sainte-Geneviève...
, the historical painter J. L. Lund
J. L. Lund
Johan Ludwig Gebhard Lund , , Danish painter, was born in Kiel, Duchy of Holstein, to master painter Hans Giewert Lund and his wife Maria Magdalena Christina Bremer...
and the classical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...
. Richardt was awarded the Academy's small and large silver medals in 1839 and 1840, respectively.
In 1847, he received a five year stipend from the crown, on the condition that he deliver one architectural and one landscape painting each year to the royal collection. Between 1855 and 1859 he visited in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He maintained a studio in New York City, while traveling during the summers to Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
and to various destinations east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
After returning to Denmark, Richardt married the widow Sophia Schneider née Linnemann (1831-1888) in 1862. They traveled for part of a year in southern Europe, and from 1863 they lived for a period in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In February 1864, Queen Victoria invited Richardt to display his art work to the court at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
.
In 1872 and 1873, Richardt sold many of his accumulated paintings and lithographs before emigrating to the United States with his family. They lived first in the town of Niagara Falls, N.Y. where the artist again produced canvases depicting the great waterfall and the surrounding area. In 1875, the Richardts moved to San Francisco, and finally in 1876 to Oakland. For the remaining twenty years of his life Richardt was active as a painter of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
landscapes with a concentration on the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. He exhibited and sold his works in San Francisco until at least 1887. At the same time he taught drawing privately. At his death in 1895, Richardt left a daughter, Johanna (1862-1897), and a stepson, Joost Schneider.
Paintings
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
; two hang in The White House, Washington, D.C.
Selected paintings
- ThorvaldsenBertel ThorvaldsenBertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...
in his studio at Charlottenborg, 1840. (Thorvaldsen's Museum). - Frederiksborg PalaceFrederiksborg PalaceFrederiksborg castle is a castle in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV, and is now known as The Museum of National History. The current building replaced a previous castle erected by Frederick II, and is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia...
, 1847. (Hillerød City Hall). - Kronborg CastleKronborg CastleKronborg is a star fortress situated near the town of Helsingør on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden...
, 1848. (Museums of Elsinore). - Several pictures of Niagara Falls.
- Mount VernonMount VernonThe name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
, 1858. (Fine Arts Museums of San FranciscoFine Arts Museums of San FranciscoThe Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco and one of the largest art museums in California.-External...
). - Independence Hall, 1858 (The White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
). - San Francisco by Moonlight, 1876 (Society of California PioneersSociety of California PioneersThe Society of California Pioneers and its members are listed in the Annals of San Francisco of 1855. The key stipulation seems to be that they arrived in California prior to December 31, 1849. Since this was a membership organization, it lists only a portion of the pioneers that came to...
).
Drawings and Lithographs
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and made numerous drawings of manor houses etc. These were lithographed
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
with the best techniques of the time, and published along with descriptions by well-known historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s in the books:
- Views of Danish Manors (Prospecter af danske Herregaarde), 80 portfolios 1844-68 showing a total of 240 manor houses. Republished with condensed text in 1976.
- Danish Churches, Castles, Manors and Memorials (Danske Kirker, Slotte, Herregaarde og Mindesmærker), 12 portfolios 1867-68 with a total of 56 pictures.
- ScaniaScaniaScania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
n Manors (Skånska herregårdar), 24 portfolios 1852-63, with a total of 78 pictures. - Manors in SödermanlandSödermanland', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
(Herregårdar uti Södermanland), 12 portfolios 1864-69 with a total of 57 pictures, some in color.
These works were very popular at the time. Today, they are of great historical interest.
Richardt drew a vast number of pictures besides those published. These served as studies for his hundreds of oil paintings and for other print works. At his death, more than 1,000 Danish and American drawings passed to his daughter, and later to his stepson. The drawings were considered to be lost, until the 1990s when American scholar and cultural historian Melinda Young Stuart located them in the possession of Justine van Hemert Keller, the grandchild of Richardt's stepson. Over 500 of the original drawings, on which Richardt's paintings and lithographs were based, are preserved in the archives of Denmark's Nationalmuseet, a gift of the artist's great-granddaughter. Other drawings are held at the Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
, the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
The M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, commonly called simply the de Young Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. It is named for early San Francisco newspaperman M. H...
, and elsewhere.
In 2003, more than 100 of the newly found drawings were reproduced, along with other works by Richardt in the book Danish Manorhouses and America (see below). A copy of this book was presented as a gift by the Danish prime minister's wife to the American First Lady when she came to Copenhagen on an official visit.
In 2007, 55 of Richardt's American drawings were exhibited at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute is a regional fine arts center founded in 1919 and located in Utica, New York. The institute has three program divisions:*Museum of art*Performing arts*School of art-Museum of art:...
; a catalogue was published (see below). The exhibit later traveled to the Grand Rapids Art Museum
Grand Rapids Art Museum
The Grand Rapids Art Museum is an art museum located in Grand Rapids, Michigan with collections ranging from Renaissance to Modern Art and special collections on 19th and 20th century European and American art, including such modern art works as Richard Diebenkorn’s 1963 Ingleside...
where it was on view during the summer of 2008.
Sources
- Paul D. Schweizer & Melinda Young Stuart, Ferdinand Richardt: Drawings of America, 1855-1859 (Utica, NY: Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute Museum of Art, 2007). ISBN 0915895315.
- Melinda Young Stuart & Niels Peter Stilling: Danish Manorhouses and America, Landscape Art of Ferdinand Richardt (1819-1895) (published by Søllerød Museum, Denmark, 2003) ISBN 8788792455. (Danish title: Danske Herregårde og Amerika). The text by Stilling is in Danish, that by Stuart in English.
- Melinda Young Frye: Joachim Ferdinand Richardt (1819-1895), a Danish Artist in the American Landscape (1855-1859) (M.A. thesis, George Washington University, Washington DC, 1993)
- White Mountain Art & Artists
- Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute's exhibition of drawings in 2007
- New Hampshire Historical Society on art and tourism in the White Mountains 1850-1900