Maria Röhl
Encyclopedia
Maria Christina Röhl was a Swedish portrait artist. She made portraits of a large number of the best known people in Sweden in the first half of the 19th century. Her paintings are exhibited at the national museum Nationalmuseum in Stockholm
. The Swedish Royal library has a collection of 1800 portraits by her. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts
(1843) and an official portrait artist of the royal court.
in a well-off family but became poor at the death of her parents in 1822. After her first plans to become a governess, she was educated in drawing by the professor and engravor Christian Forsell; she had already received education in art by the painter Alexander Hambré, and was now taught to make quick and realistic portrait drawings in lead and chalk.
She began to draw the friends of the Forsell family, where she lived, and soon it became fashionable in high sociaty to be portraited by "mamsell
Röhl", and she was able to support herself as an artist. She was much employed by those who couldn't pay to be painted in oil, and drew a large number of famous Swedes of the time, both aristocrats and actors. Maria Röhl did paint in oil, but the majority of her work are drawings in lead
and chalk
.
In 1843, Röhl was appointed court painter, and in 1843–1846, she studied in Paris at the studio of Leon Cogniet
at the French academy of arts. After her return, she established her own studio at Brunkebergstorg in Stockholm. During her last years, the art of photography
became a harsh rival to her drawn portraits. She died in Stockholm.
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. The Swedish Royal library has a collection of 1800 portraits by her. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts
Royal Swedish Academy of Arts
The Royal Swedish Academy of Arts or Kungl. Akademien för de fria konsterna, founded in 1773 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...
(1843) and an official portrait artist of the royal court.
Biography
Maria Röhl was born in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in a well-off family but became poor at the death of her parents in 1822. After her first plans to become a governess, she was educated in drawing by the professor and engravor Christian Forsell; she had already received education in art by the painter Alexander Hambré, and was now taught to make quick and realistic portrait drawings in lead and chalk.
She began to draw the friends of the Forsell family, where she lived, and soon it became fashionable in high sociaty to be portraited by "mamsell
Mamsell
Mamsell was a historical Swedish honorific used for unmarried women from about the mid 18th-century until 1866. The title was primarily used for middle class women and women in the cities.- History :...
Röhl", and she was able to support herself as an artist. She was much employed by those who couldn't pay to be painted in oil, and drew a large number of famous Swedes of the time, both aristocrats and actors. Maria Röhl did paint in oil, but the majority of her work are drawings in lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
.
In 1843, Röhl was appointed court painter, and in 1843–1846, she studied in Paris at the studio of Leon Cogniet
Léon Cogniet
Léon Cogniet was a French historical and portrait painter.- Biography :Cogniet was born in Paris. In 1812, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied under Pierre-Narcisse Guérin at the same time as Delacroix and Géricault. In 1817 he won the Prix de Rome and was a resident at...
at the French academy of arts. After her return, she established her own studio at Brunkebergstorg in Stockholm. During her last years, the art of photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
became a harsh rival to her drawn portraits. She died in Stockholm.