Abraham Wuchters was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

-Danish

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...

 painter and engraver. He was born in Antwerp but had most of his career in Denmark where he, along with Karel van Mander III

Karel van Mander III

Karel van Mander , was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the grandson of Karel van Mander.-Biography:According to Houbraken, who confused him with his father Karel van Mander the Younger, he learned to paint from his father and became a good portrait painter. His portrait of Christian IV was honored...

, was the preferred painter of the Danish King, nobility and Bourgeoisie during his day, together they represent the main influence from the Dutch Golden Age

Dutch Golden Age

The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...

 on Danish Baroque art.

Biography

Wuchters was born in Antwerp in 1608. He arrived in Denmark in 1638 and was, the following year, employed as sketching master at Sorø Academy

Sorø Academy

Sorø Academy is a boarding school and public gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by the Crown after the Reformation, and ever since, on and off, it has served...

. Around the same time, he was summoned to Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 where he painted several portraits of King Christian IV

Christian IV of Denmark

Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...

. In 1645 he returned to Copenhagen Castle

Copenhagen Castle

Copenhagen Castle was a castle on Slotsholmen in Copenhagen, Denmark, built in the late 14th century at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace....

 to portray the King's children, including lrik Christian Gyldenløve (c. 1645, Danish National Gallery

Statens Museum for Kunst

Statens Museum for Kunst is the Danish national gallery located in Copenhagen....

) and Duke Frederik (III) (c. 1645, Amalienborg Palace

Amalienborg Palace

Amalienborg Palace is the winter home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of four identical classicizing palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard ; in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's...

).

In two periods, between 1658 and 1662, he worked at the Royal Swedish Court in Stockholm where he portrayed Queen Consort Christina

Christina of Sweden

Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...

 (1660, Uppsala University

Uppsala University

Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...

 and 1661, Stockholm Castle), Charles X Gustav

Charles X Gustav of Sweden

Charles X Gustav also Carl Gustav, was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who...

 and Hedvig Eleonora.

Back in Denmark, Wuchters was engaged by Frederick III

Frederick III of Denmark

Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...

, who had instituted Denmark as an absolute monarchy

Absolutism

The term Absolutism may refer to:* Absolute idealism, an ontologically monistic philosophy attributed to G.W.F. Hegel. It is Hegel's account of how being is ultimately comprehensible as an all-inclusive whole...

 in 1660, with responsibility for the maintenance of his paintings.

n 1671 the new king, Christian V

Christian V of Denmark

Christian V , was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

, appointed him as official Painter to the Danish Coirt and in 1873 he was also made official Engraver to the Danish Court. It was, therefore, he alone who decided how the face of the absolutist King was to be represented.

As royal painter he also executed decorative works in the royal residences, such as in Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle located in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects...

. These include a fine fresco in Queen Consort Sophie Amalie's bedchamber, where she is depicted as Hera

Hera

Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...

, the mother of the Greek gods.