Friedrich Bernhard Westphal facts for kids
Friedrich Bernhard Westphal (born October 5, 1803, in Schleswig – died December 24, 1844) was a talented German-Danish artist. He was known for painting everyday life scenes, called a genre painter. He also created pictures for books. People often called him Fritz Westphal.
Life as an Artist
Fritz Westphal started his art journey early. From 1821 to 1826, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He learned alongside other artists like Thomas Fearnley, who painted landscapes. In 1823, he even went on a hiking trip with Fearnley through Schleswig.
In 1827, Westphal went back to his hometown. There, he made a special kind of print called a lithograph. It was based on a series of pictures called 'Four Seasons' by J. F. Fritz in Flensburg.
In 1828, he studied art in Munich. The next year, in May 1829, he studied in Dresden with his friend Fearnley. In Dresden, he became good friends with another genre painter named Joseph Petzl. Both Westphal and Petzl kept special drawing diaries. They drew about their art, their feelings, and their daily lives.
Petzl had a big influence on Westphal. Westphal began painting small pictures of everyday life in a style called Biedermeier. This style often showed peaceful, cozy scenes. Sometimes, his paintings also showed important events from history. For example, he painted about the people of Tyrol fighting against the Austrian Empire. He also showed Greeks suffering from sickness.
Westphal also painted scenes from Danish history. These included the famous sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen returning to Copenhagen in 1838. He also painted the funeral procession for King Frederick VI in 1840. Another painting showed the crowning of King Christian VIII in 1840.
After a big change in France in 1830, called the July Revolution, both Petzl and Westphal moved to Schleswig. In the summer of 1832, Westphal went on a long hike through Norway. From 1837, he started drawing pictures for books. These books were written by Danish authors like Christian Winther and Carsten Hauch.
Westphal really wanted to travel to Italy. To do this, he returned to Copenhagen. He hoped to win the academy's Great Gold Medal. The prize for this medal was a scholarship to study in Rome. Sadly, he did not win the competition in 1837, 1839, or 1841. After that, he became a "costumier" at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. This meant he helped design and make costumes for plays.
After Westphal passed away, his sister Sophie wanted to keep his memory alive. In 1852, she published a book called "Genre-Bilder in Bildern und Tönen von Fritz Westphal". This book included 32 of his poems and 10 of his lithographs.
Famous Works
Here are some of the artworks created by Fritz Westphal:
- Portrait of Westphal's master baker, around 1825.
- Sappho, around 1828.
- Winter, a drawing from around 1828.
- Self portrait, around 1828.
- The Möwenpreis, 1836.
- David Playing the Harp for Saul, 1837.
- King Valdemar testing Little Else, 1838. You can find this at the National Gallery of Denmark.
- Christ at Emmaus, an altarpiece for Aastrup Church, 1838.
- Thorvaldsen's Return to Copenhagen in 1838, around 1840. This painting is at the Thorvaldsen-Museum in Copenhagen.
Images for kids
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Thorvaldsen's Return to Copenhagen by Westphal.
