Johannes Wiedewelt - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Johannes Wiedewelt Danish

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...

neoclassical

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...

sculptor

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

, was born 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...

to royal sculptor to the Danish Court, Just Wiedewelt, and his wife Birgitte Lauridsdatter. Following in his father’s footsteps, he too became a royal sculptor introducing neoclassical ideals to Denmark in the form of palace decorations, garden sculptures and artifacts and, especially, memorial monuments. He was undoubtedly the best known Danish sculptor before 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...

Early training

The elder Wiedewelt recognised his son’s talents early, and the boy trained under the Italian history painter Hieronimo Miani

Hieronimo Miani

Hieronimo Miani, also known as Hieronymus Miani, was an Italian history painter, who worked in Denmark as both a painter to the royal court of King Christian VI, and as a teacher....

, one of the two leaders of the Drawing and Painting Academy (Tegne- og Malerakademiet) in Copenhagen along with Louis August le Clerc

Louis August le Clerc

Louis August le Clerc , also known as Louis-Augustin le Clerc, was a French-born sculptor working in Denmark. He was born in Metz, France to copperplate engraver Sebastian le Clerc and his wife Charlotte van den Kerckhove...

, as early as perhaps 1744. This Academy was the precursor to the still-extant 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...

(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) established ten years later.

When Miani left Denmark in 1745 to return to Italy, the elder Wiedewelt took a stronger hand in training the boy, apprenticing him in his workshop. At the same time the young Wiedeweldt continued at the Academy, drawing under Johan Christof Petzoldt, and he presumedly also trained under royal sculptor to the Danish Court, Didrick Gercken.

He began already to produce his own works early, and had produced in Spring 1750 two small busts cast in tin of King Frederik V and Queen Louise

Louise of Great Britain

Louise of Great Britain was the youngest surviving daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and became queen consort of Denmark and Norway.-Early life:...

. He was paid a reasonable sum for this work, and it encouraged him to follow his dream to study outside of Denmark.

Student travel to Paris

Several months later at nineteen years of age he ventured out on a student travel that took him over Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

to Rouen

Rouen

Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

and finally to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

in August 1750. There he met the Danish Legation secretary to the French Court in Paris Justitsråd Joachim Wasserschlebe who would become a loyal supporter of the young sculptor.

With Wasserschlebe’s help, Wiedewelt was taken into the studio of the renowned Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

sculptor Guillaume Coustou the Younger, where from 1750-1754 he worked partially as a student and partially as an assistant. He later received a yearly royal allowance from King Frederik, which was doubled after two years.

In Paris he also came to know Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle was a French sculptor.He was born in Paris, the seventh child of a carpenter. Although he failed to obtain the Grand Prix, after a severe struggle he entered the Académie Royale and became one of the most popular sculptors of his day.His earlier work, such as Child with Cage ...

. During 1752-1754 Wiedewelt made a sculpture of fellow-Dane, Magnus Gustav Arbien, medallionist who was at the time studying under a royal stipend from the Danish Court. Wiedewelt won a silver medallion from the French Academy of Art (Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture) in 1753.

There was a sweeping artistic interest during those times for the study of ancient art. This rage originated in the discoveries of Herculaneum

Herculaneum

Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...

in 1738 and Pompeii

Pompeii

The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...

in 1748, and was fanned by the directorship of the French Academy, Abel Poisson known as the Marquis de Marigny and brother to Madame de Pompadour

Madame de Pompadour

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...

. Poisson introduced the technique of drawing from antiqities, especially architecture, sculpture and landscapes, instead of from models. This technique was based on his experiences in Italy visiting the recently excavated archeological sites.

Continued travel to Rome

Wiedewelt was the first to receive a travel stipend from the newly established Danish Academy of Art in 1754, and used the funds to travel to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Although Coustou tried to convince Wiedewelt to stay in Paris longer, the young sculptor wanted to go to Rome, and left in May 1754. His trip took him over Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

, Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

and Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...

; he arrived in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

on 7 June 1754.

A letter of recommendation from Wasserschlebe introduced Wiedewelt to the Director of the French Academy in Rome (l´Academie de France á Rome), Professor Charles Joseph Natoire, artist. He lived and studied at the Academy, lodging at the Palazzo Mancini

Palazzo Mancini

The Palazzo Mancini is a palazzo in Rome, Italy. From 1737 to 1793 it was the second home of the French Academy in Rome.-History:In 1634 Lorenzo Mancini, brother of cardinal Francesco Maria Mancini, married Geronima Mazzarino, sister of cardinal Mazarin...

. Natoire put him in contact with others in residence there. Among these were German painter Anton Raphael Mengs

Anton Raphael Mengs

Anton Raphael Mengs was a German painter, active in Rome, Madrid and Saxony, who became one of the precursors to Neoclassical painting.- Biography :Mengs was born in 1728 at Ústí nad Labem in Bohemia...

, Italian Pompeo Batoni

Pompeo Batoni

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...

, and German archeologist and art theorist Johann Joachim Winckelmann

Johann Joachim Winckelmann

Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the difference between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art...

who arrived in Rome 1755.

At the Academy he, along with other students, came under the influence of Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons" .-His Life:...

, who had lived in Rome since 1740 and who set a heightened focus on antiquities as artistic subject matter.

Wiedewelt visited private collections such as the Farnese collection, as well as the publicly accessible ones such as the Capitol Museum and the Vatican Museum. He and Johann Winckelmann studied ancient sculptures together, and Winckelmann advised the younger Wiedewelt, encouraging him to use these sculptures as a base for his drawings and to use his knowledge of ancient art as the basis for his artistic production. Wiedewelt made many drawings and sketches of these ancient sculptures during his Roman residence. The two were inseparable. Wiedewelt’s friendship and admiration for Winckelmann left a deep impression on him, especially in regards his acquired knowledge and appreciation for Ancient Greek artifacts and art.

Both of Wiedewelt’s parents died in 1757.

During his time in Rome he also managed to take excursions to Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Pompeii

Pompeii

, Herculaneum

Herculaneum

and Portici

Portici

Portici is a town and comune of the Province of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is the site of the Portici Royal Palace.-Geography:...

. Several of these trips were made in the company of Winckelmann in 1758. The two would remain close, maintaining a lively letter exchange, until Winckelmann was murdered in Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

in 1768.

Return to Denmark and an artistic career

Wiedewelt left Rome on 1 July 1758, when his financial support was running out, and after he had been ordered home to Denmark

Denmark

by the Academy. He traveled back in the company of friend, neoclassical painter Johan Edvard Mandelberg

Johan Edvard Mandelberg

Johan Edvard Mandelberg , Swedish-born painter living in Denmark, was born at sea during a voyage between Stockholm and Livland, Sweden.- Mandelberg seeks training:...

. They traveled over Caprarola

Caprarola

Caprarola is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The village is situated in a range of volcanic hills known as the Cimini Mounts....

, Siena

Siena

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

, Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

, Carrara

Carrara

Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....

, Lucca

Lucca

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...

, Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

, Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, and Trieste

Trieste

where they studied the local art collections and churches, and on through the Tyrol

County of Tyrol

The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...

and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. They arrived back to Copenhagen

Copenhagen

on 6 October 1758.

Hardly six months after his return Wiedewelt was named member of the newly organised Art Academy, as well as being named royal sculptor to the Danish Court in 1759, inclusive gratis studio at Materialgaarden near Frederiksholm's Canal. He was known for his good taste in art and his knowledge of antiquities. He became quickly the judge of artistic good taste in Denmark.

Commissions soon followed. As a first commission he was requested to sculpt a memorial monument to the long deceased king Christian VI of Denmark

Christian VI of Denmark

Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian...

by his widowed wife, Sophie Magdalene

Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was queen-consort of Denmark and Norway as the wife of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.-Background:...

. The marble monument was completed in 1768, but was not installed at Roskilde Cathedral

Roskilde Cathedral

Roskilde Cathedral , in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe...

until 1777. The neoclassical

Neoclassicism

monument included a sarcophagus and two female figures, "Sorgen" ("Sorrow") and "Berømmelsen" ("Fame"). This was the first neoclassical sarcophagus in Denmark, and is considered to be neoclassicism’s start in Denmark.

In 1760 he began work on another comprehensive project, sculptural groups, individual sculptures and decorations for the gardens at the French-inspired baroque Fredensborg Palace

Fredensborg Palace

Fredensborg Palace, , is a palace located on the eastern shore of Lake Esrum in Fredensborg on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It is the Danish Royal Family’s spring and autumn residence, and is often the site of important state visits and events in the Royal Family...

. He produced a large series of drawings for the King giving his suggestions for the decoration of the gardens. He came to work closely with architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin

Nicolas-Henri Jardin

Nicolas-Henri Jardin , neoclassical architect, was born in St. Germain des Noyers, Dept. Seine-et-Marne, France, and worked seventeen years in Denmark as an architect to the royal court...

, with whom he would travel together to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

and Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

in the late 1760’s. His outdoor sculptures here and at other gardens have come to comprise the greatest assembled collections of his works.

During these years the bulk of his work was by order of the Court, although there were sometimes also private commissions.

In 1761 he became a professor at the Art Academy. He also took on a leading position with Fourniers Porcelain Manufactory 1761-1766.

Wiedewelt wrote a small manifesto in 1762 entitled "Tanker om Smagen udi Kunsterne i Almindelighed" ("Thoughts on Taste in the Arts in General").

He contributed to the decoration of Frederiks Church, also known as "Marmorkirken" ("The Marble Church") with no less than 64 figures and 30 reliefs. Due to the scale of the royal projects, the time constraints and the common practices of the time Wiedewelt often left the direct work of sculpting be carried out by his studio assistants from sketches, which he delivered.

In 1765-1766 he delivered a plaster allegorical

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

relief

Relief

Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...

and twelve medallions of the Oldenborg

House of Oldenburg

The House of Oldenburg is a North German dynasty and one of Europe's most influential Royal Houses with branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Russia, Greece, Norway, Schleswig, Holstein, Oldenburg and Sweden...

kings to the sumptuous Knights Hall (Riddersalen) at Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace, , on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the seat of the Folketing , the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court...

, plus additional decorative pieces. These were all lost in the fire of 1794. Some of the medallions are evidenced in engravings.

He served as Treasurer of the Academy 1767-1772, and served as Director of the same 1772-1778, 1780-1789, and 1793-1795. He exhibited at the Salon for the first time in 1769, and subsequently in 1778 and 1794.

In 1769 he completed the monument to Frederik V in Roskilde Cathedral which includes a large sarcophagus resting on footpieces and decorated by numerous sculptures, behind which is a column topped of an urn, a medallion with the king's portrait, and on each side of the sarcophagus, sitting approx. 9' high above the floor, are two crowned, grieving female figures representing Denmark and Norway. The memorial chapel was created as a collaboration between Wiedewelt and architect Caspar Frederik Harsdorff

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff, also known as C.F. Harsdorff, , Danish neoclassical architect is considered to be Denmark’s leading architect in the late 18th century, and is referred to as “The Father of Danish Classicism”.- Early life and training :He was born Caspar Frederik Harsdørffer in...

Later career

In 1768-1769 Wiedewelt traveled to Paris and London in the company of architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin

Nicolas-Henri Jardin

Nicolas-Henri Jardin , neoclassical architect, was born in St. Germain des Noyers, Dept. Seine-et-Marne, France, and worked seventeen years in Denmark as an architect to the royal court...

, then architect for Frederik's Church

Frederik's Church

Frederick's Church , popularly known as The Marble Church is a church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of Amalienborg Palace....

, now known as the Marble Church (Marmorkirken) . His travel journals show that he visited famous gardens during the trip, and studied them carefully.

Large commissions from the court slowed down drastically after this foreign tour, as Johann Friedrich Struensee

Johann Friedrich Struensee

Count Johann Friedrich Struensee was a German doctor. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish government. He rose in power to a position of “de facto” regent of the country, where he tried to carry out widespread reforms...

's took over control of the country from the weak, young, schizophrenic

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

, newly-crowned King Christian VII

Christian VII of Denmark

Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....

and put his cost-cutting reforms into place between 1769-1771. These cutbacks also resulted in Jardin's losing his position with the Church after this same two-year travel.

German-born

Germany

Struensee was widely disliked, and between 1770-1772 Wiedewelt created a series of drawings satirizing Struensee and his associate Count Enevold Brandt

Enevold Brandt

-Biography:Enevold Brandt was born in Copenhagen, and studied law at the University of Copenhagen. He became assistant judge of the Supreme Court of Copenhagen in 1764, royal chamberlain in 1769, and afterwards superintendent of the Royal Theatre...

. He also designed several coins for Christian VII

Christian VII of Denmark

in 1771.

Starting in the early 1770's, the reaction to Struensee led to a wider distrust of foreigners in positions of power in Denmark. This included the foreign-born artists, especially French artists, in the King's service who lost power and influence in Denmark's official artistic and Academic circles. Friend Jardin resigned his professorship at the Academy on 26 March 1771.

From this point on, although Wiedewelt remained court sculptor until his death, his commissions came primarily from private patrons, and were mostly grave monuments and sarcophaguses. He received many such commissions, and during a thirty-year period he produced over 36 such works. Among these are one for Ludvig Holberg

Ludvig Holberg

Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...

in Sorø

Sorø

Sorø is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The population is 7,805 . The municipal council and the regional council are located in Sorø....

made in 1779, and another for the first wife of Adam Gottlob Moltke

Adam Gottlob Moltke

Count Adam Gottlob Moltke , Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat, born at Riesenhof in Mecklenburg.-Early life:...

, statesman and high official at the Danish Court.

The only large order he received from the court after that time was one for "Høegh-Guldbergs nationalhistoriske anlæg" ("Høegh-Guldbergs National Historical Garden") named for Ove Høegh-Guldberg

Ove Høegh-Guldberg

Ove Høegh-Guldberg was a Danish statesman, historian and de facto prime minister of Denmark, 1772–1784.-Biography:...

, theologian and historian. The commission consisted of fifty-four monuments to be set up on the expansive grounds of Crown Prince Frederik V

Frederick V of Denmark

Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:...

's Jægerspris Castle

Jægerspris Castle

Jægerspris Castle, in Jægerspris on the Hornsherred peninsula west of Copenhagen, is a Danish manor house. It has belonged to the Danish monarchs for most of its history which dates back to the 13th century...

in Jægerspris

Jægerspris

Jægerspris is a town and a former municipality in Region Hovedstaden in the northern part of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 96 km², and had a total population of 9,480...

. They were sculpted between 1777-1789. Wiedewelt was inspired by Ove Malling's book "Store og gode Handlinger af Danske, Norske og Holstenere" ("Great and Good Deeds of Danes, Norwegian and Holsteiners") published in 1777. He decorated the park with monuments and memorial stones in honour of exceptional Danes, Norwegians, and Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

ers, placing these pieces in the open parkland. He took advantage of his recent studies of foreign gardens, especially the English garden Stowe Park

Stowe, Buckinghamshire

Stowe is a civil parish and former village about northwest of Buckingham in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Boycott, Dadford and Lamport....

near Buckingham which he had visited, and created a new visual language.

He also designed a portal for a recently excavated ancient grave on the site.

Additionally his studio produced reliefs in 1773 of Hercules

Hercules

Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...

and Omphale

Omphale

In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued...

for the Hercules Pavilion in "Kongens Have" ("The King's Garden"), the gardens of Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects...

in Copenhagen. In 1782 he designed coin cabinets for "Det kongelige Møntkabinet" ("The Royal Coin Museum") at the same castle.

In 1783 he created "Bernstorffstøtten" ("Bernstorff Column") a memorial for Foreign Minister Count Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff
in Lyngby, who had early-on instituted agricultural reforms (landboreformer) on his estate, prior to the land-wide reforms that followed on 20 July 1788.

These land-wide reforms led to the monumental "Frihedsstøtten" ("The Freedom Monument") in Copenhagen. Work was started August 31, 1792 and it was erected in 1797. It is still on public display although in a new location. The monument was 20 meters high and consisted of an obelisk of red sandstone, a pedestal of grey marble and a base on three steps of red sandstone before the renovation of 1998-1999. Wiedewelt contributed to this piece with the statue "Troskaben" ("Faithfulness"), which is one of four sculptures in this large piece, and with the relief "Retfærdighedens Genius" ("The Genius of Justice"). The other artists who contributed to the monument were Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard

Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard

Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard , Danish artist, was born in Copenhagen, the son of Søren Abildgaard, an antiquarian draughtsman of repute, and Anne Margrethe Bastholm.- Training as an artist :...

, who designed the overall monument, colleague Andreas Weidenhaupt and Nicolai Dajon.

Between 1785-1801 Wiedewelt created fifteen monuments for the day's important people at Assistens Cemetery near Copenhagen's Northern Gate, "Nørreport". Of these eight can still be seen today in the park-like setting.

Wiedewelt was chosen eight times as Director of the Art Academy; the last time he held the position was 1793-1794. He worked hard to keep the Academy running well, facing often-shifting attitudes from the court and uncertain royal financial support. He was committed to the end, in spite of ill health in his advanced age.

He also worked until the end, even though his own financial means worsened drastically, and he lived in abject poverty. During his many years of good economy he lived a festive life with no restrictions, and he was very generous. When times became rough, as it did not only for him but also for others who were accustomed to royal support, he suffered along with the royal house’s financial problems. In spite of his meager economy he continued to support two elderly sisters, a servantman, as well as a poor cousin. He had never married.

As late as 1802 he planned a monument to the fallen Danish soldiers from the events of 1801.

His life's tragic end

By the end Wiedewelt had pawned most of his belongings, when a final catastrophe proved to be too much for him-- a shipload of marble blocks he had purchased with borrowed money went to the bottom of the sea near Læsø

Læsø

Læsø is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality on that island...

. This apparently proved to be more than he could handle, and shortly thereafter on 17 December 1802 he drowned in an apparent suicide in Sortedamsøen, a lake just outside of that day's Copenhagen limits.

His body was found four days later, and he was buried on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...

, at Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen.

It was a sorrowful occasion, as Wiedewelt was well loved and admired by his many associates. Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature.-Biography:He was born in Vesterbro, then a suburb of Copenhagen, on 14 November 1779...

, poet and playwright, wrote a well-known elegy in his honour, calling him "Denmark's Phidias

Phidias

Phidias or the great Pheidias , was a Greek sculptor, painter and architect, who lived in the 5th century BC, and is commonly regarded as one of the greatest of all sculptors of Classical Greece: Phidias' Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World...

". His own grave monument was made by friend and colleague Andreas Weidenhaupt.

Works

He had a rich fantasy, and his compositions were easy and natural. His works were tasteful, and influenced by both his French Baroque training and his careful study of and appreciation for late Greek and Roman art. He was well-versed in the use of classical allegory

Allegory

and symbol

Symbol

A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...

s, especially those having to do with death

Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....

.

He was also inspired by Nordic mythology and ancient, Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

and Icelandic sagas, and made many drawings based on these.

Sculptures and reliefs attributed to him and his studio have been lost to time, and are sometimes only evidenced by sketches and engravings.

His works are a part of the royal households and gardens. Those in the gardens are the largest collections of his works in one place. He viewed his garden decorations as creating an outdoors theatre presentation relating to the surrounding trees of various types, to figure groups of sculptures and to decorative columns and obelisks. He had a sense of the developing romantic

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

garden.

His memorial monuments are spread out in churches throughout Denmark, with the royal monuments at Roskilde Cathedral. Many of these monuments can be found at Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen.

His drawings are also highly esteemed. He illustrated a deluxe edition of Ludvig Holberg

Ludvig Holberg

's "Peder Paars" in 1772, engravings for which were made by Johan Frederik Clemens

Johan Frederik Clemens

Johan Frederik Clemens , Danish printmaker in etching, was born in Gollnow near Stettin in Pomerania, to a poor Saxon weaver, Johan David Clemens, and his wife Anna Francken...

, who collaborated with Wiedewelt on several projects. He also made illustrations for a book by Peder Topp Wandal on the Jægerspris Castle project in 1783. Clemens also engraved these illustrations,

Wiedewelt, along with architect Harsdorff, was one of the primary figures responsible for introducing Neoclassicism to Denmark. He was highly esteemed by his contemporaries and by those artists who followed. He is considered an important transitional figure leading to future generations of Danish artists.

He was a learned man, very cultivated. He had a large library of books covering many subjects, which often served as a source of inspiration. He is known to have had a dark satirical sense of humour, which came out in his drawings.

As professor at the Academy he introduced his Neoclassical theories to artistic students. Among his many students was Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard

Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard

Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard , Danish artist, was born in Copenhagen, the son of Søren Abildgaard, an antiquarian draughtsman of repute, and Anne Margrethe Bastholm.- Training as an artist :...

, future Director of the Academy and instructor for Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

, and undoubtedly Danmark's most renowned sculptor.

In memory of Wiedewelt

From Adam Oehlenschlæger's poem written in 1803 in memory of Johannes Wiedewelt.

Taus hun sukker

Bølgen mildt sig lukker

om den gamle Tindings sølvgråe Haar.

Hun forsvinder.

Dagen bleg oprinder;

Hist paa Frihedsstøtten Lærken slaaer.

Troskab græder

I de hvide Marmorklæder

Kold og bleg, den ranke hulde Mø.

Haand paa Brystet

Aldrig aldrig trøstet,

stirrer hun henpå den sorte Sø"

Silently she sighs

The mild waves close in

Round the old man's tempels, his silver-grey hair.

She disappears.

The pale day runs out.

Yonder on Freedom's Monument the lark sounds.

Faithfulness cries

In its white marble clothes

Cold and pale, the proud gracious maiden

Hand on breast

Never, never comforted

She stares out onto the dark lake.

Literature

Annette Rathje & Marjatta Nielsen (eds.), Johannes Wiedewelt - A Danish Artist in Search of the Past, Shaping the Future, Museum Tusculanum Press, 2010. ISBN 978-87-635-0787-5.

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