Johan Lundbye
Encyclopedia
Johan Thomas Lundbye was a promising young Danish
painter
and graphic artist, known for his animal and landscape paintings who died at the age of 29. He was artistically inspired by Niels Laurits Høyen's call to develop a Danish nationalistic
art by exploring as motif the characteristic landscapes, the historical buildings and monuments, and the simple, rural people of Denmark. He became one of his generation’s national romantic
painters, along with P.C. Skovgaard and Lorenz Frølich, to regularly depict the landscape of Zealand.
He was born in Kalundborg
to Joachim Theodor Lundbye and wife Catherine Bonnevie. He was sickly as a child. He studied privately under animal painter Christian Holm and at the age of 14 he came into J.L. Lund’s drawing school and the Royal Danish Academy of Art
(Danish
, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) in Copenhagen
, where he finished in 1842. He began exhibiting in 1835, and in 1839 his painting "Parti af Dyrehaven med Hjorte og Hinde" ("View of the Deer Park with Stag and Hind") was purchased by N.L. Høyen's influential Art Union (Kunstforeningen).
In the years to come he would focus his painting on depicting landscapes. His large "Kystparti ved Isefjord" ("Coast View by Isefjord") was exhibited in 1843 and purchased by the Royal Painting Collection, now the Danish National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst)
.
He received a travel grant from the Academy in 1845, which was renewed a year later. On June 5, 1845 he left Denmark and traveled through Germany (Altona, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Mainz, Strasbourg), over the Rhine to Switzerland (Basel, Geneva) to France (Marseilles), and then to Italy, where he painted "Oxer i den romerske Kampagne" ("Oxen in the Roman Campagne"), which was exhibited in 1847 and purchased by the Royal Painting Collection.
He returned to Denmark on 18 July 1846 after a year and half. He surprised his circle of friends and announced that he was going to live in the country for a year, and took a little farm near Helsingør
. The First War of Schleswig
, known in Denmark as the Three Years' War (Treårskrigen), however broke out, and in the spring of 1848 he enlisted in the army like many other young artists.
He died eight days later on 26 April 1848. There is some question as to whether he died from an accidental shot, or whether the chronically depressed artist took his own life.
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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...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and graphic artist, known for his animal and landscape paintings who died at the age of 29. He was artistically inspired by Niels Laurits Høyen's call to develop a Danish nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
art by exploring as motif the characteristic landscapes, the historical buildings and monuments, and the simple, rural people of Denmark. He became one of his generation’s national romantic
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
painters, along with P.C. Skovgaard and Lorenz Frølich, to regularly depict the landscape of Zealand.
He was born in Kalundborg
Kalundborg
Kalundborg is a city with a population of 16,434 in Kalundborg municipality in Denmark and the site of its municipal council. Kalundborg is on the main island Zealand, with Copenhagen, but opposite on the far western edge....
to Joachim Theodor Lundbye and wife Catherine Bonnevie. He was sickly as a child. He studied privately under animal painter Christian Holm and at the age of 14 he came into J.L. Lund’s drawing school and 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...
(Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) in 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...
, where he finished in 1842. He began exhibiting in 1835, and in 1839 his painting "Parti af Dyrehaven med Hjorte og Hinde" ("View of the Deer Park with Stag and Hind") was purchased by N.L. Høyen's influential Art Union (Kunstforeningen).
Statens Museum for Kunst
Statens Museum for Kunst is the Danish national gallery located in Copenhagen....
.
He received a travel grant from the Academy in 1845, which was renewed a year later. On June 5, 1845 he left Denmark and traveled through Germany (Altona, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Mainz, Strasbourg), over the Rhine to Switzerland (Basel, Geneva) to France (Marseilles), and then to Italy, where he painted "Oxer i den romerske Kampagne" ("Oxen in the Roman Campagne"), which was exhibited in 1847 and purchased by the Royal Painting Collection.
He returned to Denmark on 18 July 1846 after a year and half. He surprised his circle of friends and announced that he was going to live in the country for a year, and took a little farm near Helsingør
Elsinore
Helsingør is a city and the municipal seat of Helsingør municipality on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Helsingør has a population of 46,279 including the southern suburbs of Snekkersten and Espergærde...
. The First War of Schleswig
First War of Schleswig
The First Schleswig War or Three Years' War was the first round of military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The war, which lasted from 1848–1851,...
, known in Denmark as the Three Years' War (Treårskrigen), however broke out, and in the spring of 1848 he enlisted in the army like many other young artists.
He died eight days later on 26 April 1848. There is some question as to whether he died from an accidental shot, or whether the chronically depressed artist took his own life.
External links
- KID Kunst Index Danmark ("Art Index Denmark")
- Danish Biographical Encyclopedia ("Dansk biografisk Leksikion")
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