Nicolai Abildgaard

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Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard
Royal Danish Academy of Art
Known forPainting

Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809)

Amalienborg.[2]

Biography

Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the son of Anne Margrethe (née Bastholm) and Søren Abildgaard, a noted antiquarian draughtsman.[1][3]

Abildgaard was trained by a

Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) in Copenhagen, where he studied under the guidance of Johan Edvard Mandelberg and Johannes Wiedewelt. He won a series of medallions at the Academy for his brilliance from 1764 to 1767.[4] The Large Gold Medallion from the Academy won in 1767 included a travel stipend, which he waited five years to receive. He assisted Professor Johan Mandelberg of the Academy as an apprentice around 1769 and for painting decorations for the royal palace at Fredensborg. These paintings are classical, influenced by French classical artists such as Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin. Mandelberg had studied in Paris under François Boucher.[5]

Student travels

The Wounded Philoctetes (1775)

Although artists of that time usually journeyed to Paris for further studies, Abildgaard chose to travel to

mythology, antiquities, anatomy, and perspective.[5]

In the company of

Johann Heinrich Füssli, he began to move away from the classicism he had learned at the Academy. He developed an appreciation for the literature of Shakespeare, Homer, and Ossian (the putative Gaelic poet). He worked with themes from Greek as well as Norse mythology, which placed him at the forefront of Nordic romanticism. He left Rome in June 1777 with the hope of becoming professor at the Academy in Copenhagen. He stopped for a stay in Paris and arrived in Denmark
in December of the same year.

An academic and artistic career

In 1778, soon after joining the Academy, he was appointed to a professorship. He taught mythology and anatomy in addition to painting of the neoclassical style. Beyond his position at the Academy, he was very productive as an artist from 1777 to 1794. He produced not only monumental works, but also smaller pieces such as vignettes and illustrations. He designed Old Norse costumes. He illustrated the works of Socrates and Ossian. Additionally he did some sculpting, etching, and authoring. He was interested in all manners of mythological, biblical, and literary allusion.[6]

He taught some famous painters, including

Golden Age of Danish Painting
, as professor at the same Academy.

Cabinet painted in trompe-l'œil fashion by Abildgaard

As royal

mythological elements that glorified and flattered the government. The door pieces depicted, in allegory, four historical periods in Europe's history. Abilgaard used pictorial allegory like ideograms, to communicate ideas and transmit messages through symbols to a refined public who was initiated into this form of symbology. Abildgaard's professor Johan Edvard Mandelberg supplied the decorations to the room.[6]

He made a failed attempt to be elected to the post of Academy Director in 1787 and was unanimously elected to the post two years later, serving as director during the period 1789–1791.[1] He had the reputation for being a tyrant and for taking as many of the academy's monumental assignments as possible for himself.[7]

Abilgaard was also known as a religious freethinker and an advocate of political reform. In spite of his service to (and in his artwork the glorification of) the government, he was hardly a great supporter of the monarchy or of the state church. He supported the emancipation of the farmers and participated in the collection of monies for the Freedom Monument (Frihedsstøtten) in 1792. He contributed a design for the monument, as well as for two of the reliefs at its base. He got drawn into controversies at the end of the 18th century because of his provocative statements and satirical drawings. He was inspired by the French Revolution, and in 1789–1790 he tried to incorporate these revolutionary ideals into the Knights' Room at Christiansborg Palace. However, the King rejected his designs.[7]

His showdowns with the establishment culminated in 1794, when his allegorical painting "Jupiter Weighs the Fate of Mankind" (Jupiter vejer menneskenes skæbne) was exhibited at the Salon. He was politically isolated and cut out of the public debate by censors.

Frederik. His protégé Bertel Thorvaldsen headed the sculptural efforts. He also planned for rebuilding the Christiansborg Palace, but he could not get the assignment.[8]

At the start of the 19th century, his interest in painting was restored when he painted four scenes from Terence's comedy Andria. In 1804 he received a commission for a series of paintings for the throne room in the new palace, but disagreements between the artist and the crown prince put a halt to this project. He continued, however, to provide the court with designs for furniture and room decorations.

He was once again selected to serve as the Academy's director from 1801 until his death.

Gallery

Personal life

Abildgaard married Anna Marie "Nancy" Christiane Oxholm (1762–1822) in 1781. She gave birth to his son Marcus Aurelius the same year. However, he lived only to 4 years of age.

When Abildgaard found out his wife was unfaithful with

the Sound to Helsingborg, Sweden, getting a divorce. His second marriage in 1803 was to Juliane Marie Ottesen (1777–1848). He had a further two sons and a daughter from this marriage. He died at Frederiksdal House in 1809. Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard is buried in Copenhagen's Assistens Cemetery.[7]

Legacy

Though Nicolai Abildgaard won immense fame in his own generation and helped lead the way to the period of art known as the

August Vilhelm Saabye
sculpted a statue of him in 1868, based on contemporary portraits.

See also

  • Art of Denmark

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8
    .
  2. ^ "Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard". Salmonsens konversationsleksikon. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. ^ Katrine Kalleklev. "Søren Abildgaard". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. ^ Weilbach, P. (1877). Dansk Konstnerlexikon, indeholdende korte Levnedstegnelser over Konstnere, som indtil Udgangen af 1876 have levet ... i Danmark eller den danske Stat (in Danish). Höst og Sön. p. 9. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b Jul. Lange. "Abildgaard, Nicolai Abraham, 1743–1809". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b Charlotte Christensen. "Nicolai Abildgaard". Den Store Danske, Gyldendal. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Patrick Kragelund. "Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard". Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Christian VIII's Palace". The Royal Danish House. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  9. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Abildgaard, Nikolaj Abraham". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 63.
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Cultural offices
Preceded by Director of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
1789–1791 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
1801–1809 		Succeeded by
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