Nicolai Abildgaard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard
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Portrait of Nicolai Abildgaard by Jens Juel (1772)
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| Born | 11 September 1743 |
| Died | 4 June 1809 (aged 65) Spurveskjul near Frederiksdal, Denmark
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| Resting place | Assistens Cemetery, Copenhagen |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Education | New Royal Danish Academy of Art |
| Known for | Painting |
Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (born September 11, 1743 – died June 4, 1809) was a famous Danish artist. He was a neoclassical painter, sculptor, and architect. He also taught painting, mythology, and anatomy at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Many of his artworks were found in royal buildings. These included the Christiansborg Palace (some were sadly lost in a fire in 1794), Fredensborg Palace, and the Levetzau Palace at Amalienborg.
Contents
Early Life and Training
Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father, Søren Abildgaard, was a well-known artist who drew old things.
Abildgaard first learned from a painting master. Later, he joined the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen. There, he studied with teachers like Johan Edvard Mandelberg and Johannes Wiedewelt. He was a very bright student and won many awards called medallions from 1764 to 1767.
In 1767, he won the Large Gold Medallion. This award came with money to travel and study. He waited five years to get this money. Around 1769, he helped Professor Johan Mandelberg paint decorations for the royal palace at Fredensborg. These paintings were in a classical style, like those by French artists such as Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin.
Studying Abroad
Most artists at that time went to Paris to study more. But Abildgaard chose to travel to Rome, Italy. He stayed there from 1772 to 1777. He also took a short trip to Naples in 1776 with another artist, Jens Juel.
Abildgaard really wanted to become a great history painter. While in Rome, he studied the famous paintings of Annibale Carracci, Rafael, Titian, and Michelangelo. He also learned about other art forms like sculpture, architecture, and wall paintings. He studied mythology, ancient history, and how the human body works.
While with Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel and painter Johann Heinrich Füssli, Abildgaard started to change his art style. He began to like the stories of Shakespeare, Homer, and Ossian. He used ideas from both Greek and Norse mythology in his art. This made him a leader in the Nordic romanticism art movement.
He left Rome in June 1777, hoping to become a professor in Copenhagen. He stopped in Paris for a while and arrived back in Denmark in December of the same year.
Teaching and Art Career
In 1778, soon after joining the Academy, Abildgaard became a professor. He taught about mythology and anatomy, as well as neoclassical painting. From 1777 to 1794, he was a very busy artist. He created large artworks and smaller pieces like illustrations. He even designed old Norse costumes. He also illustrated books by Socrates and Ossian. Besides painting, he did some sculpting, etching, and writing. He loved to use ideas from myths, the Bible, and literature in his art.
He taught many famous artists. These included Asmus Jacob Carstens, sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, and painters J. L. Lund and Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. After Abildgaard's death, Lund and Eckersberg became professors at the Academy too. Eckersberg is known as the "Father of Danish painting." He helped start the period of art called the Golden Age of Danish Painting.
Around 1780, the Danish government asked Abildgaard to paint large artworks for the Knights' Room at Christiansborg Palace. This was a big and important job. The paintings showed scenes from Danish history mixed with allegorical and mythological ideas. These ideas were meant to praise the government. Abildgaard used symbols to share messages with people who understood them.
He became the Academy's director from 1789 to 1791. He was known for being very strict and for taking on many of the Academy's big art projects himself.
Abildgaard also believed in new ideas and wanted changes for society. Even though he worked for the government, he didn't always agree with the monarchy. He supported farmers getting more freedom. He helped collect money for the Freedom Monument (Frihedsstøtten) in 1792. He designed part of this monument. He sometimes faced challenges because of his strong opinions and drawings. He was inspired by the French Revolution. In 1789–1790, he tried to include these new ideas in his paintings for Christiansborg Palace, but the King did not approve.
In 1794, his painting "Jupiter Weighs the Fate of Mankind" caused some discussion. He became less involved in public discussions.
A fire at Christiansborg Palace in February 1794 also affected his career. Seven of his ten large paintings for the palace were destroyed. This project stopped, and so did his income from it.
However, after the fire, he started getting new jobs to decorate buildings. He also worked as an architect. He decorated the Levetzau Palace at Amalienborg (1794–1798). This was the home of King Christian VII of Denmark's half-brother, Frederik. His student Bertel Thorvaldsen helped with the sculptures. Abildgaard also made plans to rebuild Christiansborg Palace, but he didn't get that job.
At the start of the 1800s, he became interested in painting again. He painted four scenes from the play Andria by Terence.
In 1804, he was asked to create paintings for the throne room in the new palace. But he and the crown prince disagreed, and the project stopped. He continued to design furniture and room decorations for the royal court.
He was chosen to be the Academy's director again from 1801 until he passed away.
Family Life
Abildgaard married Anna Marie "Nancy" Christiane Oxholm in 1781. They had a son named Marcus Aurelius that same year, but he sadly lived only to be four years old. His first marriage later ended.
In 1803, he married Juliane Marie Ottesen. They had two more sons and a daughter.
He passed away at Frederiksdal House in 1809. Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard is buried in Copenhagen's Assistens Cemetery.
Legacy
Nicolai Abildgaard was very famous during his time. He helped start the period of art known as the Golden Age of Danish Painting. However, his works are not very well known outside of Denmark today. His art style was classical, but it also had a romantic touch.
The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition described him as a "cold theorist." This means he was inspired more by other art than by nature. He was very good with colors. As a painter, he was very successful, and his colors were harmonious. A portrait of him by Jens Juel was made into a medallion by his friend Johan Tobias Sergel. Later, in 1868, August Vilhelm Saabye sculpted a statue of him based on pictures from his time.
See also
- Art of Denmark
Images for kids
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In Spanish: Nikolai Abraham Abildgaard para niños
