Caspar Frederik Harsdorff
Encyclopedia
Caspar Frederik Harsdorff, also known as C.F. Harsdorff, (26 May 1735 – 24 May 1799), Danish neoclassical
architect is considered to be Denmark’s leading architect in the late 18th century, and is referred to as “The Father of Danish Classicism”.
, Denmark to German-born schoolteacher Johan Christopher Harsdørffer from Nürnberg and his Swedish-born wife Anne Marie Eriksdatter.
He began his education in mathematics in order to train for the Engineer Corps, but his interest lay in architecture, which he studied enthusiastically. When the Royal Danish Academy of Art
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) opened in 1754 at Charlottenborg Palace
he was able to study under French architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin
.
In 1756 his design for a city gate won the Academy’s large gold medallion, giving him the distinction of being the first Danish architect to win the coveted award. The award included a six-year travel grant.
, an architect to Louis XV of France
.
In late spring 1762 he traveled to Rome, where he discovered the remains of Ancient Rome
, and he understood that his education until then had been incomplete. While in Italy he drew and measured the antiquities he studied.
1766-1769 he built the memorial chapel for former Lord High Steward
Count Adam Gottlob Moltke
at Karise
Church in Faxe, which had been begun by his former teacher and now fellow Professor at the Academy architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin.
In 1770 he was named Royal Building Master to the court of King Christian VII
. In May 1770 he married Elisabeth Margrethe Fortling, the daughter of former stonemason and Building Master to the royal court Jacob Fortling.
In 1771 Professor Jardin requested that Harsdorff be named his successor as Professor of Architecture at the Academy, which position he filled that year after Jardin vacated the position on 26 March in conjunction with his leaving Denmark to return to France. As professor he played an important role in the classical education of the next generation of architects. His students included Peter Meyn, Joseph Christian Lillie
and Christian Frederik Hansen
.
Harsdorff also became a member of the Main Building Directorate (Overbygnings direktionen) in 1771.
In 1773 he designed the pulpit at Our Saviour’s Church (Vor Frelsers Kirke) in the Christianshavn
district of Copenhagen. The neoclasical wood pulpit is painted to look like golden marble, and features a frieze
attributed to Johannes Wiedewelt
and Peder Als
.
That same year he rebuilt in the King’s Garden (Kongens Have), the gardens at Rosenborg Castle
in Copenhagen, the temple-like Hercules Pavilion for which Johannes Wiedewelt’s studio produced the reliefs of Hercules
and Omphale
. The pavilion now houses a café.
He also was commissioned to enlarge the Nicolai Eigtved
-designed The Royal Theatre
(1748) on Kongens Nytorv
that year. In the course of his work on this project he received permission to develop the site between the theatre and Charlottenborg Palace, home of the Art Academy, which he then developed 1779-1780 as a home for his family. Rebuilding of the theatre was carried on 1773-1774.
1774-1779 he designed and started building the austere memorial chapels for Christian VI
and Frederik V at Roskilde Cathedral
. Work on this project, however, was stopped in 1779 because of lack of money. The work began again many years after his death, and was completed by his student Christian Frederik Hansen
(1820-1825).
Harsdorff acted as the Academy’s Director 1777-1779, and was named to the title of Justitsraad in 1778.
In 1779-1780 he built his own townhouse at 3-5 Kongens Nytorv, which became the new model for Copenhagen townhouses of the time. Today the building houses the Danish Arts Agency, the Danish Arts Council, and the Danish Arts Foundation. The building is shown on a Danish postage stamp, part of series entitled Danish Houses which features significant Danish buildings.
1781-1785 he did the interior design in two large rooms at The Royal Library.
In 1781 he was named Head Royal Building Master.
1794-1795 he designed and built the colonnade at Amalienborg Palace
to connect the recently occupied King’s palace, Moltke Palace, with the Crown Prince’s residence, Schack’s Palace.
In 1795 he was asked to create plans for Frederik's Church
(Frederikskirke), now known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken), work on which had been halted 1770 after French neoclassical architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin had led the effort. Harsdorff created two plans, and made a model of one of them. The project was approved, but Harsdorff health was now weak. The work eventually was developed according to plans by Ferdinand Meldahl.
May 1799 he became sick at his country home Rosenlund on Gammel Kongevej, Frederiksberg
, and he died there on 24 May 1799. He was buried in Assistens Cemetery (Assistens Kirkegård), Copenhagen. He was survived by his wife.
Art historian and critic Niels Lauritz Høyen
’s Nordic Art Society (Selskabet for nordisk Kunst) published in 1871 the book "C. F. Harsdorffs Værker" ("C.F. Harsdorff’s Works").
An exhibition devoted to his work was held in Copenahgen’s Kunstindustrimuseet September 1985.
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
architect is considered to be Denmark’s leading architect in the late 18th century, and is referred to as “The Father of Danish Classicism”.
Early life and training
He was born Caspar Frederik Harsdørffer in CopenhagenCopenhagen
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...
, Denmark to German-born schoolteacher Johan Christopher Harsdørffer from Nürnberg and his Swedish-born wife Anne Marie Eriksdatter.
He began his education in mathematics in order to train for the Engineer Corps, but his interest lay in architecture, which he studied enthusiastically. When the Royal Danish Academy of Art
Royal Danish Academy of Art
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts has provided a practice-oriented complement to the scholarly investigation of the arts carried out at Danish universities for more than 250 years, playing a crucial part in the development of the distinctive tradition of the art of Denmark.- History :The Royal...
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) opened in 1754 at Charlottenborg Palace
Charlottenborg Palace
Charlottenborg Palace is a large town mansion located on the corner of Kongens Nytorv and Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally built as a residence for Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, it has served as the base of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts since its foundation in 1754...
he was able to study under French architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin
Nicolas-Henri Jardin
Nicolas-Henri Jardin , neoclassical architect, was born in St. Germain des Noyers, Dept. Seine-et-Marne, France, and worked seventeen years in Denmark as an architect to the royal court...
.
In 1756 his design for a city gate won the Academy’s large gold medallion, giving him the distinction of being the first Danish architect to win the coveted award. The award included a six-year travel grant.
Extended education and travel years
He traveled to Paris 1757, and he stayed there four years, also in the company of painter Jens Pedersen Lund and sculptor Carl Frederik Stanley who resided in Paris at the same time as Harsdorff. While there he studied diligently under Jacques-François BlondelJacques-François Blondel
Jacques-François Blondel was a French architect. He was the grandson of François Blondel , whose course of architecture had appeared in four volumes in 1683 -Biography:...
, an architect to Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
.
In late spring 1762 he traveled to Rome, where he discovered the remains of Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, and he understood that his education until then had been incomplete. While in Italy he drew and measured the antiquities he studied.
Career in Denmark
He returned to Denmark in 1764, and was named Building Inspector. That same year he was invited to join the Academy, and received the assignment to design "Et kongeligt Palais, liggende paa en smuk Plads" ("A royal palace located on a beautiful plaza"). His design was judged successful, and he was accepted as member of the Academy in 1765, where he was given a job as Professor in Perspective in 1766.1766-1769 he built the memorial chapel for former Lord High Steward
Lord High Steward
The position of Lord High Steward of England is the first of the Great Officers of State. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, except at coronations and during the trials of peers in the House of Lords, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, but not invariably, the Lord...
Count Adam Gottlob Moltke
Adam Gottlob Moltke
Count Adam Gottlob Moltke , Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat, born at Riesenhof in Mecklenburg.-Early life:...
at Karise
Karise
Karise is the main town of Karise Parish in Faxe Municipality, Region Sjælland in the southeast of Denmark. Karise town has a population of 2,187...
Church in Faxe, which had been begun by his former teacher and now fellow Professor at the Academy architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin.
In 1770 he was named Royal Building Master to the court of King Christian VII
Christian VII of Denmark
Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....
. In May 1770 he married Elisabeth Margrethe Fortling, the daughter of former stonemason and Building Master to the royal court Jacob Fortling.
In 1771 Professor Jardin requested that Harsdorff be named his successor as Professor of Architecture at the Academy, which position he filled that year after Jardin vacated the position on 26 March in conjunction with his leaving Denmark to return to France. As professor he played an important role in the classical education of the next generation of architects. His students included Peter Meyn, Joseph Christian Lillie
Joseph Christian Lillie
Joseph Christian Lillie , also known as J.C. Lillie, was a Danish neoclassical architect andinterior designer. His early career was in Denmark, where he is mainly known for his interior designs and furniture production...
and Christian Frederik Hansen
Christian Frederik Hansen
Christian Frederik Hansen , known as C.F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art the most powerful person in artistic circles for many years...
.
Harsdorff also became a member of the Main Building Directorate (Overbygnings direktionen) in 1771.
In 1773 he designed the pulpit at Our Saviour’s Church (Vor Frelsers Kirke) in the Christianshavn
Christianshavn
Christianshavn is an artificial island neighbourhood located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in the early 17th century by Christian IV as part of his extension of the fortifications of Copenhagen. Originally it was laid out as an independent privileged merchant's town with inspiration from...
district of Copenhagen. The neoclasical wood pulpit is painted to look like golden marble, and features a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
attributed to Johannes Wiedewelt
Johannes Wiedewelt
Johannes Wiedewelt , Danish neoclassical sculptor, was born in Copenhagen to royal sculptor to the Danish Court, Just Wiedewelt, and his wife Birgitte Lauridsdatter...
and Peder Als
Peder Als
Peder Als, a Danish historical and portrait painter, born at Copenhagen in 1725, studied for some time under C. G. Pile. After gaining the first great prize given by the academy at Copenhagen in 1755, he went to Rome and entered the school of Mengs. He occupied himself chiefly in copying the...
.
That same year he rebuilt in the King’s Garden (Kongens Have), the gardens at 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...
in Copenhagen, the temple-like Hercules Pavilion for which Johannes Wiedewelt’s studio produced the reliefs of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
and Omphale
Omphale
In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued...
. The pavilion now houses a café.
He also was commissioned to enlarge the Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved
Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved, , Danish architect, introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo style in Danish architecture during the 1730s-1740s. He designed and built some of the most prominent buildings of his time, a number of which still stand to this day...
-designed The Royal Theatre
The Royal Theatre
The Royal Theatre is the third studio album by Scottish group Ballboy, released in 2004.-Track listing:# Let's Fall In Love And Run Away From Here# I Don't Have Time To Stand Here With You Fighting About The Size Of My Dick# The Art Of Kissing...
(1748) on Kongens Nytorv
Kongens Nytorv
Kongens Nytorv is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The finest and largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection with a major extension of the fortified city, and has an equestrian statue of...
that year. In the course of his work on this project he received permission to develop the site between the theatre and Charlottenborg Palace, home of the Art Academy, which he then developed 1779-1780 as a home for his family. Rebuilding of the theatre was carried on 1773-1774.
1774-1779 he designed and started building the austere memorial chapels for Christian VI
Christian VI of Denmark
Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian...
and Frederik V at Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral , in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe...
. Work on this project, however, was stopped in 1779 because of lack of money. The work began again many years after his death, and was completed by his student Christian Frederik Hansen
Christian Frederik Hansen
Christian Frederik Hansen , known as C.F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art the most powerful person in artistic circles for many years...
(1820-1825).
Harsdorff acted as the Academy’s Director 1777-1779, and was named to the title of Justitsraad in 1778.
In 1779-1780 he built his own townhouse at 3-5 Kongens Nytorv, which became the new model for Copenhagen townhouses of the time. Today the building houses the Danish Arts Agency, the Danish Arts Council, and the Danish Arts Foundation. The building is shown on a Danish postage stamp, part of series entitled Danish Houses which features significant Danish buildings.
1781-1785 he did the interior design in two large rooms at The Royal Library.
In 1781 he was named Head Royal Building Master.
1794-1795 he designed and built the colonnade at 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...
to connect the recently occupied King’s palace, Moltke Palace, with the Crown Prince’s residence, Schack’s Palace.
In 1795 he was asked to create plans for Frederik's Church
Frederik's Church
Frederick's Church , popularly known as The Marble Church is a church in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of Amalienborg Palace....
(Frederikskirke), now known as The Marble Church (Marmorkirken), work on which had been halted 1770 after French neoclassical architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin had led the effort. Harsdorff created two plans, and made a model of one of them. The project was approved, but Harsdorff health was now weak. The work eventually was developed according to plans by Ferdinand Meldahl.
May 1799 he became sick at his country home Rosenlund on Gammel Kongevej, Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It surrounded by the city of Copenhagen. The municipality, co-extensive with its seat, covers an area of and has a total population of 98,782 making it the smallest municipality in Denmark area-wise, the fifth most...
, and he died there on 24 May 1799. He was buried in Assistens Cemetery (Assistens Kirkegård), Copenhagen. He was survived by his wife.
Aftermath
In addition to his public assignments Harsdorff had many private commissions. He also designed furniture whose simple, clear construction and form contain features that would be characteristic of later Danish furniture.Art historian and critic Niels Lauritz Høyen
Niels Lauritz Høyen
Niels Laurits Andreas Høyen, , Danish is considered to be the first Danish art historian and critic. He promoted a Danish nationalistic art through his writings and lectures, and exerted a far reaching effect on contemporary artists...
’s Nordic Art Society (Selskabet for nordisk Kunst) published in 1871 the book "C. F. Harsdorffs Værker" ("C.F. Harsdorff’s Works").
An exhibition devoted to his work was held in Copenahgen’s Kunstindustrimuseet September 1985.