Carl Frederik von Breda
Carl Frederik von Breda | |
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Royal Swedish Academy of Arts | |
Known for | Painting |
Signature | |
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Carl Frederik von Breda (16 August 1759 – 1 December 1818) was a
Early life
Breda's great-grandfather Pieter emigrated to Stockholm around the year 1670 from the Netherlands. The "von Breda" family name seems to indicate a connection with the city of
At the Academy, Breda studied historical and portrait painting.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Thomas_Clarkson_by_Carl_Frederik_von_Breda.jpg/170px-Thomas_Clarkson_by_Carl_Frederik_von_Breda.jpg)
In 1786 he entered a competition in historical painting at the Academy, producing a painting on the theme of Meleager, the Greek Prince. He lost to Jonas Åkerström. According to Asplund, "the selection was influenced by the better financial position of Breda, since he was able to provide the money for the journey abroad which the prize money was to make possible."[2] Breda had married at age 22 and he and his wife had at least one son, so instead of the usual young artist's trip to Paris and Rome, he chose to go to London, where his family could accompany him.[2] In London, Breda's son Johan Fredrik von Breda, was born in 1788.[1]
Great Britain
In Britain, Breda was exposed to the work of many great painters and was able to study with
Breda established a London studio in
Return to Sweden
Breda returned to Stockholm in 1796, where he became a professor at the Academy and received many orders for portraits. According to Asplund, his "bold, spirited brushwork, which he had learnt in England, aroused admiration in Sweden" and his finest portraits were painted in 1797 and 1798 and sees the dawn of Romanticism in his later works.[2] These include paintings of his father Lucas, two of his nephews, the scholar and humanist Nils von Rosenstein, and the singer Teresa Vandoni. This last is considered his most celebrated work.[2]
According to Asplund, the longer he stayed in Sweden, the more monotonous Breda's portraits became. He inherited his father's house and art collection, and they became a center of culture in Stockholm. Breda taught students, including his son Johan, and was known as a kind and sympathetic teacher.[2]
Breda received official commissions: after the monarchy fell in 1809, he painted a series of portraits of the "four Estates of the Realm" from 1811 on, and in 1812 he was ennobled. However, the political uncertainty and upheaval in Sweden at the time often interfered with his work. He failed to complete at least two planned paintings - in 1800 he was commissioned to paint the coronation of
A similar commission to paint the coronation of Gustav IV Adolf's Uncle,
Today Breda's works hang in many museums, including the
Gallery
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Axel von Fersen
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Girl with Goldfish
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Axel von Fersen
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Mary Priestley, wife of Joseph Priestley (1793)
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Magnus Fredrik Brahe
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Charlotte of Mecklenburg
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The Artist's Father
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Double Portrait
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ a b c Bryan, Michael (1886). Dictionary of Painters and Engravers: Biographical and Critical. Vol. I.: A-K. London: George Bell and Sons. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
- ^ JSTOR 868812.
- ^ a b "Carl Frederik von Breda (1759-1818)". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
- ^ "Pera Museum | Error".
- ^ 14 artworks by or after Carl Frederik von Breda at the Art UK site
- ^ "Mrs. William Hartigan, 1787/1796". National Gallery of Art. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
- ^ "Breda, Carl Fredrik von". Finnish National Gallery. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
Literature
1. Minchinton W. Scandinavian Art in England 1768-1838. Three cases. - The Northern Seas: politics, economics and culture: eight essays. Ed. by W.Minchington. 1989.
2. Baird, Olga. The Lunar Society in Portraits by Carl-Fredrick von Breda: Likenesses of Life and Soul. //Birmingham Historian, Issue 30, Summer 2007. pp. 27–32.