Nicolai Eigtved
Encyclopedia
Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved, (4 June or 22 June 1701 - 7 June 1754), Danish
architect
, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo
style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day. He also played an important role in the establishment of the Royal Danish Academy of Art
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi), and was its first native-born leader.
to Mads Nielsen and Dorthe Hansdatter. He was trained locally as a gardener, and was promoted to a position at the Frederiksberg Palace
Gardens ca. 1720.
July 1723 he got an opportunity to travel out of the country as a royal gardening apprentice. He travelled to Berlin
and Dresden
, among other places in Germany
, earned his keep with jobs as a gardner, and learned to speak German
.
, Poland
, where he caught the attention of German architect and draughtsman Colonel Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann
, for whom he worked for several years. Pöppelmann was connected to the Saxon
-Polish
court under Frederick Augustus I, and got him a position as Second Lieutenant in the Saxon-Polish Engineer Corps.
Eigtved had the luck to come into a rich architectural environment, which was influenced by the presence of French immigrants such as Jean de Bodt
and Zacharias Longuelune. Some of Pöppelmann’s assignments in those years, on which Eigtved would have probably participated, were the Augustus Bridge (Augustusbruecke) in Dresden (1728), the extension of the Japanese Palace in Dresden (1727), drafts for the three-king church in Dresden new city (1723-1739), and a new large lock for the Saxon dynasty (ca. 1730).
In 1730 Eigtved was promoted to Lieutenant in Engineer Corps, and participated in the building of the ruler’s military camp near Zeithain
. He made excellent military drawings, and became acquainted with Danish statesman General Poul Løvenørn, who after his return to Denmark interested Christian VI
in Eigtved. The King summoned Eigtved to Denmark, and with the title of Captain he was dismissed from foreign service.
between 1732-1735 in civil architecture. On his travel back to Denmark he stayed and made drawings in Vienna
and Munich
, where he became familiar with the rococo style seen in French architect François de Cuvilliés
’s newly built Amalienburg
Palace near Nymphenburg
Eigtved returned to Denmark in 1735 after twelve years’ absence. Building construction was at a fever pitch, with construction of Christiansborg Palace
having been begun three years earlier. He was named Captain in the Engineer Corps, and named Royal Building Master with supervisory responsibiltiy for Jutland
and Funen
in 1735.
, another Royal Building Master and the leading proponent of baroque architecture at the time. Eigtved became the king’s preferred architect, and Eigtved’s rococo
style was the preferred building style. As a result de Thurah was often overlooked, while Eigtved got the best assignements.
He participated along with German architect Elias David Hausser
and Lauritz de Thurah in the interior construction of Christiansborg Palace, with wood sculpting by Louis August le Clerc
. de Thurah and Eigtved, for the most part, divided up the interior assignments. Eigtved designed the king’s apartments, the main staircase, the chapel’s interior, the riding grounds, and the Marble Bridge (Marmorbroen) and its two pavilions, and gave the castle it’s delicate Louis XIV
style. Unfortunately, most of Eigtved’s accomplishments at Christiansborg were lost in the fire of 1794.
Hausser, who had been the original architect for the project, lost his influence as the younger de Thurah and Eigtved took on larger assignments in the castle project. In 1738 the king set up a royal buildings commission that would lead the continued work on the castle. The commission would be led by State Minister Count Johan Sigismund Schulin
At the same time Eigtved and de Thurah switched areas of responsibilities, where de Thurah gave up Copenhagen and the island of Zealand, in exchange for Eigtved’s Jutland Peninsula.
In 1742 Eigtved was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Engineer Corps, became a member of the Building Commission, and took over the role of leading architect for Christiansborg Palace from Hausser.
Eigtved designed and built, along with Boye Junge, The Prince’s Palace (Prinsens Palæ) in Frederiksholm's Canal, 1743-1744 for the Crown Prince Frederik V
. The building is now the National Museum
(Nationalmuseet).
At the same time he also designed a mansion for Schulin of the Building Commission in Frederiksdal.
On 24 May 1743 he married Sophie Christine Walther, chambermaid to Princess Louise, at Frederickborg Castle Chapel. They had seven children, but only three lived to adulthood.
Between 1744 and 1745, Eigtved built a small pavilion for Privy Councillor J.S. Schulin on the Furesø Lake
called Frederiksdal Pavilion
. Credited with being the earlier example of "maison de plaisance" in Denmark, "it jointly had large and small rooms symmetrically ordered around the main axis' vestibule and constervatory. The mansard roof
is the result of an alteration carried out by J.G. Rosenberg in 1752-1753, who while working on Frederiksdal also built Margård on northwest Funen
, also inspired by French country estates."
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi). Until then the Academy has had an impoverished existence with weak leadership. Eigtved overtook administrative responsibility for the Academy in 1745 after Hieronimo Miani
’s departure as leader from Denmark.
The Marble Bridge at Christiansborg was completed in 1744. He was named Church Inspector for Copenhagen, Kronborg, Antborskov, Vordingborg
and Tryggevælde district in 1745.
In 1746 Frederik V ascended to the throne, and along with him came the powerful statesman and leader Court Marshal (Hofmarshal) Adam Gottlob Moltke
, who became Eigtved’s proponent in the court.
On 28 December 1747 he made a proposal to create a stronger foundation for the Academy, which was approved by the King on 12 February 1748. In this way Eigtved took control of the Academy as its first strong administrator, and the first Dane in a leading position. In late summer 1748 the Academy moved to the floor above the Crown Prince's stables at Christiansborg Palace, where Eigtved also had his official offices.
took the throne in Denmark, and in 1749 the 300-year jubilee of the coronation
of Christian I of Denmark
was commemorated with the establishment of a new district in Copenhagen called Frederiksstad. Heading the project was Moltke, and Eigtved was architect. The new Frederiksstaden district was built on the former grounds of Amalien Garden (Amalienhave), and became a fine example of European rococo architecture.
At the center of the district lay the four palaces at Amalienborg, including the Moltke Palace, today known as Christian VII’s Palace, surrounding the octagonal Amalienborg Plaza. In the middle of the plaza Moltke’s Danish Asiatic Company erected a monumental equestrian statue of Frederick VI designed by Jacques François Joseph Saly
. The four palaces surrounding the plaxa were identical from the outside, but different on the inside. Moltke’s Palace was the most expensive, and had the most extravagant interiors. Its Great Hall (Riddersalen) is acknowledged widely as perhaps the finest Danish rococo interior.
Eigtved also designed and built in the Frederikstaden district Frederiks Hospital
, now the Danish Museum of Applied Arts (’’ Kunstindustrimuseet’’).
Eigtved also led building work on one of the masterpieces of Frederiksstad— the centrally located Frederik's Church
(Frederikskirke), now known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken).
Moltke, who was also Director for the Danish Asiatic Company
, had Eigtved design a warehouse for the company on Christianshavn
. The building called Eigtved’s Pakhus was built 1748-1750. During this same period of time Eigtved also worked on the expansion of Moltke’s estate Bregentved
, which had been given to him by the King after his ascension to the throne.
He was promoted to Colonel in the Engineer Corps in 1749.
On 30 March 1754, on the King’s thirtieth birthday, the Academy moved to Charlottenborg, and became dedicated as the Royal Danish Academy of Art, after inspiration from France's Académie française
. Eigtved was snubbed at the Academy of Art's opening ceremony when professor and royal portraist Carl Gustaf Pilo
gave the welcoming speech to King Frederick V, not Eigtved. Eigtved was removed from the Director's position a few days later, and the directorship went to Frenchman sculptor Jacques Francis Joseph Saly.
Also on the same day that the Academy was moved to Charlottenborg, the Eigtved-designed Moltke Palace was officially dedicated by the king.
Eigtved died two months later on 7 June 1754 in Copenhagen. At his death two of the four Amalienborg Palaces were complete, the two western palaces. The work that he had begun was continued by de Thurah strictly according to Eigtved’s plans. The palaces were finally completed in 1760. de Thurah tried unsuccessfully to get project leadership of the work on Frederick's Church, but was denied that role, which went instead to Nicolas-Henri Jardin
on 1 April 1756.
He stands along with Laurids de Thurah as the leading architect of his time. His death probably saved him from the same type of long, agonizing downfall, as de Thurah had suffered, when his rococo style gave way to the King’s newly preferred neoclassicism
and his newly preferred architect, Nicolas-Henri Jarden. Eigtved also built Sophienberg Palace in Rungsted, the old Royal Danish Teatre, and in 1753 helped extend Fredensborg Palace
by adding four symmetrically-positioned corner pavilions with separate copper pyramid-shaped roofs to the main building.
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...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day. He also played an important role in the establishment of 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...
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi), and was its first native-born leader.
Youth and early training
He was born Niels Madsen on the farm in Egtved village in Skjoldenæsholms Birk on the island of Zealand, DenmarkDenmark
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...
to Mads Nielsen and Dorthe Hansdatter. He was trained locally as a gardener, and was promoted to a position at the Frederiksberg Palace
Frederiksberg Palace
Frederiksberg Palace is a Baroque residence, located in Frederiksberg, Denmark, adjacent to the Copenhagen Zoo. It commands an impressive view over Frederiksberg Park, originally designed as a palace garden in the Baroque style...
Gardens ca. 1720.
July 1723 he got an opportunity to travel out of the country as a royal gardening apprentice. He travelled to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, among other places in 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...
, earned his keep with jobs as a gardner, and learned to speak German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Ten years in Poland
From 1725 he lived in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, where he caught the attention of German architect and draughtsman Colonel Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann
Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann
Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann was a German master builder who helped to rebuild Dresden after the fire of 1685, and designed Dresden Castle and the Pillnitz church.Pöppelmann was born in Herford...
, for whom he worked for several years. Pöppelmann was connected to the Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
-Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
court under Frederick Augustus I, and got him a position as Second Lieutenant in the Saxon-Polish Engineer Corps.
Eigtved had the luck to come into a rich architectural environment, which was influenced by the presence of French immigrants such as Jean de Bodt
Jean de Bodt
Jean de Bodt was a Baroque architect of the 18th century.- Biography :Bodt was born in Paris to French Huguenot parents. He studied architecture, but was forced to flee from France after the Edict of Fontainebleau in the entourage of William III of Orange, the later William III of England to the...
and Zacharias Longuelune. Some of Pöppelmann’s assignments in those years, on which Eigtved would have probably participated, were the Augustus Bridge (Augustusbruecke) in Dresden (1728), the extension of the Japanese Palace in Dresden (1727), drafts for the three-king church in Dresden new city (1723-1739), and a new large lock for the Saxon dynasty (ca. 1730).
In 1730 Eigtved was promoted to Lieutenant in Engineer Corps, and participated in the building of the ruler’s military camp near Zeithain
Zeithain
Zeithain is a municipality in the district of Meißen, in Saxony, Germany.During World War II a large prisoner-of-war camp, Stalag IV-B/H, was located here.A memorial and museum commemorate it.-Municipality subdivisions:...
. He made excellent military drawings, and became acquainted with Danish statesman General Poul Løvenørn, who after his return to Denmark interested Christian VI
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...
in Eigtved. The King summoned Eigtved to Denmark, and with the title of Captain he was dismissed from foreign service.
In service to Denmark
He was made Danish Lieutenant in 1732, and Christian VI let Eigtved further educate himself in ItalyItaly
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...
between 1732-1735 in civil architecture. On his travel back to Denmark he stayed and made drawings in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, where he became familiar with the rococo style seen in French architect François de Cuvilliés
François de Cuvilliés
François de Cuvilliés was a Belgian-born Bavarian decorative designer and architect who was instrumental in bringing the Rococo style to the Wittelsbach court at Munich and to Central Europe in general.Cuvilliés was so diminutive in stature that it was as a court dwarf he first came to the notice...
’s newly built Amalienburg
Amalienburg
The Amalienburg is a small hunting lodge in the Nymphenburg Palace of Munich, southern Germany. It was constructed in 1734-1739 by François de Cuvilliés, in Rococo style, for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII and his wife, Maria Amalia of Austria....
Palace near Nymphenburg
Eigtved returned to Denmark in 1735 after twelve years’ absence. Building construction was at a fever pitch, with construction of 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...
having been begun three years earlier. He was named Captain in the Engineer Corps, and named Royal Building Master with supervisory responsibiltiy for Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
and Funen
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...
in 1735.
Royal Building Master
Thus began a life-long rivalry with colleague Lauritz de ThurahLauritz de Thurah
Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah , was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period...
, another Royal Building Master and the leading proponent of baroque architecture at the time. Eigtved became the king’s preferred architect, and Eigtved’s rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style was the preferred building style. As a result de Thurah was often overlooked, while Eigtved got the best assignements.
He participated along with German architect Elias David Hausser
Elias David Häusser
Elias David Häusser was a German-Danish architect working in the Baroque and Rococo styles. He is most known for designing the first Christiansborg Palace which was almost completely destroyed in a fire in 1794...
and Lauritz de Thurah in the interior construction of Christiansborg Palace, with wood sculpting by 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...
. de Thurah and Eigtved, for the most part, divided up the interior assignments. Eigtved designed the king’s apartments, the main staircase, the chapel’s interior, the riding grounds, and the Marble Bridge (Marmorbroen) and its two pavilions, and gave the castle it’s delicate Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
style. Unfortunately, most of Eigtved’s accomplishments at Christiansborg were lost in the fire of 1794.
Hausser, who had been the original architect for the project, lost his influence as the younger de Thurah and Eigtved took on larger assignments in the castle project. In 1738 the king set up a royal buildings commission that would lead the continued work on the castle. The commission would be led by State Minister Count Johan Sigismund Schulin
At the same time Eigtved and de Thurah switched areas of responsibilities, where de Thurah gave up Copenhagen and the island of Zealand, in exchange for Eigtved’s Jutland Peninsula.
In 1742 Eigtved was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the Engineer Corps, became a member of the Building Commission, and took over the role of leading architect for Christiansborg Palace from Hausser.
Eigtved designed and built, along with Boye Junge, The Prince’s Palace (Prinsens Palæ) in Frederiksholm's Canal, 1743-1744 for the 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:...
. The building is now the National Museum
National Museum of Denmark
The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world,...
(Nationalmuseet).
At the same time he also designed a mansion for Schulin of the Building Commission in Frederiksdal.
On 24 May 1743 he married Sophie Christine Walther, chambermaid to Princess Louise, at Frederickborg Castle Chapel. They had seven children, but only three lived to adulthood.
Between 1744 and 1745, Eigtved built a small pavilion for Privy Councillor J.S. Schulin on the Furesø Lake
Furesø Lake
Furesø is a lake in Northeastern Zealand, Denmark. It defined Farum municipality's southeast border and is the site of Nicolai Eigtved's 18th century small pleasure pavilion for Privy Councillor Johan Sigismund Schulin on the Furesø Lake called Frederiksdal Pavilion.Since January 1, 2007, its...
called Frederiksdal Pavilion
Frederiksdal Pavilion
Frederiksdal is a pleasure pavilion on the Furesø Lake in Denmark.It was designed and constructed between 1744 and 1745 by the great Danish architect Nicolai Eigtved for Privy Councillor Johan Sigismund Schulin....
. Credited with being the earlier example of "maison de plaisance" in Denmark, "it jointly had large and small rooms symmetrically ordered around the main axis' vestibule and constervatory. The mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
is the result of an alteration carried out by J.G. Rosenberg in 1752-1753, who while working on Frederiksdal also built Margård on northwest Funen
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...
, also inspired by French country estates."
Foundation for the Royal Danish Academy of Art
Around this same time he came in contact with the Drawing and Painting Academy (Tegne- og Malerakademiet), predecessor to the Royal Danish Academy of ArtRoyal 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). Until then the Academy has had an impoverished existence with weak leadership. Eigtved overtook administrative responsibility for the Academy in 1745 after 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....
’s departure as leader from Denmark.
The Marble Bridge at Christiansborg was completed in 1744. He was named Church Inspector for Copenhagen, Kronborg, Antborskov, Vordingborg
Vordingborg
Vordingborg is a municipality in Region Sjælland on the southeast coast of the island of Zealand in south Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Masnedø, and covers an area of 621 km². It has a total population of 46,600...
and Tryggevælde district in 1745.
In 1746 Frederik V ascended to the throne, and along with him came the powerful statesman and leader Court Marshal (Hofmarshal) Adam Gottlob Moltke
Adam Gottlob Moltke
Count Adam Gottlob Moltke , Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat, born at Riesenhof in Mecklenburg.-Early life:...
, who became Eigtved’s proponent in the court.
On 28 December 1747 he made a proposal to create a stronger foundation for the Academy, which was approved by the King on 12 February 1748. In this way Eigtved took control of the Academy as its first strong administrator, and the first Dane in a leading position. In late summer 1748 the Academy moved to the floor above the Crown Prince's stables at Christiansborg Palace, where Eigtved also had his official offices.
A new Copenhagen district: Frederiksstad
In 1748 it was 300 years since the Oldenburg familyHouse 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...
took the throne in Denmark, and in 1749 the 300-year jubilee of the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of Christian I of Denmark
Christian I of Denmark
Christian I was a Danish monarch, king of Denmark , Norway and Sweden , under the Kalmar Union. In Sweden his short tenure as monarch was preceded by regents, Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and Erik Axelsson Tott and succeeded by regent Kettil Karlsson Vasa...
was commemorated with the establishment of a new district in Copenhagen called Frederiksstad. Heading the project was Moltke, and Eigtved was architect. The new Frederiksstaden district was built on the former grounds of Amalien Garden (Amalienhave), and became a fine example of European rococo architecture.
At the center of the district lay the four palaces at Amalienborg, including the Moltke Palace, today known as Christian VII’s Palace, surrounding the octagonal Amalienborg Plaza. In the middle of the plaza Moltke’s Danish Asiatic Company erected a monumental equestrian statue of Frederick VI designed by Jacques François Joseph Saly
Jacques Saly
Jacques François Joseph Saly, also known as Jacques Saly , French-born sculptor who worked in France, Denmark, and Italy, was born in Valenciennes to Francois Marie Saly and wife Marie Michelle....
. The four palaces surrounding the plaxa were identical from the outside, but different on the inside. Moltke’s Palace was the most expensive, and had the most extravagant interiors. Its Great Hall (Riddersalen) is acknowledged widely as perhaps the finest Danish rococo interior.
Eigtved also designed and built in the Frederikstaden district Frederiks Hospital
Frederiks Hospital
The royal Frederiks Hospital was Denmark's first hospital in the present-day meaning of the word. It was founded by king Frederik V and financed by the earnings from the Norwegian Postal Service....
, now the Danish Museum of Applied Arts (’’ Kunstindustrimuseet’’).
Eigtved also led building work on one of the masterpieces of Frederiksstad— the centrally located 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....
(Frederikskirke), now known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken).
Moltke, who was also Director for the Danish Asiatic Company
Danish East India Company
The Danish East India Company was a Danish chartered company.-History:It was founded in 1616, following a privilege of Danish King Christian IV....
, had Eigtved design a warehouse for the company on Christianshavn
Christianshavn
Christianshavn is an artificial island neighbourhood located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in the early 17th century by Christian IV as part of his extension of the fortifications of Copenhagen. Originally it was laid out as an independent privileged merchant's town with inspiration from...
. The building called Eigtved’s Pakhus was built 1748-1750. During this same period of time Eigtved also worked on the expansion of Moltke’s estate Bregentved
Bregentved
Bregentved is a manor house located near Haslev on the Danish island of Zealand. It has been owned by the Moltke family since the middle of the 18th century.-Early history:...
, which had been given to him by the King after his ascension to the throne.
He was promoted to Colonel in the Engineer Corps in 1749.
A change of direction and Eigtved's fall
Eigtved became the Art Academy's first Director in 1751. But the winds of artistic change were already blowing, and Eigtved’s rococo style, which had been popular for so long, was about to suffer with the absolutist King's change of interest.On 30 March 1754, on the King’s thirtieth birthday, the Academy moved to Charlottenborg, and became dedicated as the Royal Danish Academy of Art, after inspiration from France's Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. Eigtved was snubbed at the Academy of Art's opening ceremony when professor and royal portraist Carl Gustaf Pilo
Carl Gustaf Pilo
Carl Gustaf Pilo was a Swedish-born artist and painter, one of many 18th century European artists who had to leave their own country in order to make a living. Pilo worked extensively in Denmark as a painter to the Danish Court and as professor and director at the Royal Danish Academy of Art ,...
gave the welcoming speech to King Frederick V, not Eigtved. Eigtved was removed from the Director's position a few days later, and the directorship went to Frenchman sculptor Jacques Francis Joseph Saly.
Also on the same day that the Academy was moved to Charlottenborg, the Eigtved-designed Moltke Palace was officially dedicated by the king.
Eigtved died two months later on 7 June 1754 in Copenhagen. At his death two of the four Amalienborg Palaces were complete, the two western palaces. The work that he had begun was continued by de Thurah strictly according to Eigtved’s plans. The palaces were finally completed in 1760. de Thurah tried unsuccessfully to get project leadership of the work on Frederick's Church, but was denied that role, which went instead to 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...
on 1 April 1756.
He stands along with Laurids de Thurah as the leading architect of his time. His death probably saved him from the same type of long, agonizing downfall, as de Thurah had suffered, when his rococo style gave way to the King’s newly preferred neoclassicism
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...
and his newly preferred architect, Nicolas-Henri Jarden. Eigtved also built Sophienberg Palace in Rungsted, the old Royal Danish Teatre, and in 1753 helped extend 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...
by adding four symmetrically-positioned corner pavilions with separate copper pyramid-shaped roofs to the main building.