Frederik Vermehren
Encyclopedia
Johan Frederik Nikolai Vermehren, also known as Frederik Vermehren, (12 May 1823 - 10 January 1910), Danish
realistic
genre and portrait
painter, was born in Ringsted
to glazier Peter Frederik Nikolai Vermehren and his wife Sofie Amalie. His artistic career took place during the period of Danish art between the Golden Age of Danish Painting
and that of the Skagen Painters
. Vermehren, along with fellow artists Christen Dalsgaard
and Julius Exner
, were the three big names in Danish genre painting that depicted the ordinary people of the country, especially farmers and other country folk. His idealised depictions helped define and encourage Denmark’s national romantic
art period.
, artist who also hailed from the same area.
Frederik finally got the opportunity to begin training in 1838 when he started drawing classes under landscape
painter Johannes Georg Smith Harder (also known as Hans Harder) as a student at Sorø Academy
. The young Vemehren made good progress drawing free hand and making portraits, and wanted to continue developing his art. His father on the other hand did not want him to seek an art career. At the intercession of the Academy’s Director, poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann and his wife, the elder Vermehren was convinced to let his son train as an aristt.
where he became a student at the Royal Danish Academy of Art
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) and trained under Jørgen Roed
, who also hailed from his hometown of Ringsted. He exhibited his first painting at Charlottenborg
in 1847, "En Skomager i sit Køkken" ("A Shoemaker in his Kitchen"), which was purchased by Christian VIII and praised by Niels Lauritz Høyen
, art critic and advocate of a national artform, national romanticism. This type of depiction of typical Danish folk played a central part of Vermehren’s production in the next several decades.
He also produced four portraits that same year.
He continued to show at Charlottenborg throughout his life with few years as exceptions.
He went into the army in 1848 as a volunteer in the first year of the Three Year’s War
, but his health did not allow him to continue. On his return home he painted "Reservesoldatens Afsked fra sin Familie" ("The Reserve Soldier’s Farewll from his Family”") which was exhibited in 1850, and which now hangs in the collection of the Danish National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst)
.
In the years 1851-1854 he exhibited only a single painting, while at the same time he completed several of his more important works. These include "Hvedebrødsmanden" ("Wheatbread Seller") painted in 1851 and which now hangs in the Hirschsprung Collection
, and "En jysk Faarehyrde paa Heden" ("A Jutland Shepherd on the Moor"), painted in 1853 and exhibited in 1855 in both Copenhagen and Paris. Vermehren comes into his own with these portraits of Jutlanders
in their native landscapes.
(Cervera, Gerano, Florence, Venice and Rome). In Italy he painted interiors, street scenes, landscapes and figure studies. He also spent a short time in Paris
where his work ("A Sheepherder from Jutland on the Prairie") was exhibited, and he also came to admire the work of the French colorists, in particular that of Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier
. Several painting based on Italian themes were exhibited including "En italiensk Hyrdedreng" ("An Italian Shepherd") and "Parti fra Byen Gerano" ("View from the Town of Gerano"), both painted in 1858.
He married Thomasine Ludvigne Grimer on 7 July 1857.
After his return to Denmark Vermehren returned also to Danish themes, painting many character studies, interior scenes, landscapes and genre paintings which garnered awards and were purchased by Danish museums.
In 1862 he took his second large travel, a trip to Holland, Paris and Rome, with a stipend from the Ancker Fund (Anckerske Legat). His work was shown that same year at the international exhibition in London.
His son, Gustav, was born on 28 December 1863, and would grow up to be a genre painter like his father.
who studied at the school 1864-1870, Kristian Zahrtmann
(1864-1868), Vilhelm Hammershøi
, and Michael Peter Ancher
..
He was a member of the Exhibition Committee at Charlottenborg in 1864. His work was exhibited at the pan-Nordic exhibition in 1872, 1883 and 1888. He was Professor in the School of Painting from 1873-1901.
He continued to paint character paintings and genre paintings of Danish scenes, but from 1870 on he was known primarily for his portraits. He painted portraits of the day’s important people, including painters Jørgen Sonne and P.C. Skovgaard, and sculptor Professor August Vilhelm Saabye.
He traveled to Paris in 1875. He taught at the school for Drawing and Applied Arts for Women between 1877-1907. His work was exhibited at the world exhibition in Paris in 1878.
He received a Treschow award in 1890, and was named honorary diplomat to Berlin in 1891 where his work was exhibited at the international art exhibition. He traveled to Berlin, Dresden, and Munich in 1883 along with architect, Ferdinand Meldahl.
He was given the honorable title Commander of the Dannebrog
in 1892. He served as a member of the Commission for National Purchase of Artworks between 1890-1896.
He discontinued teaching at the Academy in 1901.
His works were exhibited at the exhibition, “Danish Painters” at Guildhall
, London
in 1907.
He died on 10 January 1910 in Copenhagen at the age of 86, and is buried in Assistens Cemetery.
His works are in the collection of many Danish museums including the National Art Museum (‘’Statens Museum for Kunst’’), the Hirschsprung Collection
, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
, and local art museums in Aarhus
, West Zealand, and Koldinghus
.
His careful depictions of ordinary Danish country folk, and his attention to details have helped document a people imperiled by the advance of industrialism. As a painter he was not interested in the darker aspects of the farmer’s life, but preferred to show the ideal.
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...
realistic
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
genre and portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
painter, was born in Ringsted
Ringsted
Ringsted, a city in Ringsted municipality, is in the middle of the Danish island of Zealand. The municipal population is about 31,000 and the city population is 21,151 .Ringsted is approximately 60 km from Copenhagen.-Modern hotspot:...
to glazier Peter Frederik Nikolai Vermehren and his wife Sofie Amalie. His artistic career took place during the period of Danish art between the Golden Age of Danish Painting
Golden Age of Danish Painting
The Danish Golden Age covers the period of creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century. Although Copenhagen had suffered from fires, bombardment and national bankruptcy, the arts took on a new period of creativity catalysed by Romanticism from Germany...
and that of the Skagen Painters
Skagen Painters
The Skagen Painters were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the area of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century...
. Vermehren, along with fellow artists Christen Dalsgaard
Christen Dalsgaard
Christen Dalsgaard was a Danish painter, a late student of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg.- Early life and education:...
and Julius Exner
Julius Exner
Johan Julius Exner, , Danish genre painter, was born in Copenhagen to Johann Gottlieb Exner, a Czech musician from Bohemia, who came to Denmark during the Napoleonic period, and his wife Karen Jørgensdatter...
, were the three big names in Danish genre painting that depicted the ordinary people of the country, especially farmers and other country folk. His idealised depictions helped define and encourage Denmark’s national romantic
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
art period.
Growing up and early training
Conditions at home were simple, and as a boy Frederik had to work in his father’s workshop. He did not have much opportunity to draw, but he was able to do some, and he impressed Jørgen RoedJørgen Roed
Jørgen Roed, , Danish portrait and genre painter associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting, was born in Ringsted to Peder Jørgensen Roed and wife, Ellen Hansdatter.-Growing up:...
, artist who also hailed from the same area.
Frederik finally got the opportunity to begin training in 1838 when he started drawing classes under landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
painter Johannes Georg Smith Harder (also known as Hans Harder) as a student 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...
. The young Vemehren made good progress drawing free hand and making portraits, and wanted to continue developing his art. His father on the other hand did not want him to seek an art career. At the intercession of the Academy’s Director, poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann and his wife, the elder Vermehren was convinced to let his son train as an aristt.
Training at the Academy
In 1844 Vermehren took to 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...
where he became a student at 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) and trained under Jørgen Roed
Jørgen Roed
Jørgen Roed, , Danish portrait and genre painter associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting, was born in Ringsted to Peder Jørgensen Roed and wife, Ellen Hansdatter.-Growing up:...
, who also hailed from his hometown of Ringsted. He exhibited his first painting at Charlottenborg
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...
in 1847, "En Skomager i sit Køkken" ("A Shoemaker in his Kitchen"), which was purchased by Christian VIII and praised by 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...
, art critic and advocate of a national artform, national romanticism. This type of depiction of typical Danish folk played a central part of Vermehren’s production in the next several decades.
He also produced four portraits that same year.
He continued to show at Charlottenborg throughout his life with few years as exceptions.
He went into the army in 1848 as a volunteer in the first year of the Three Year’s War
First War of Schleswig
The First Schleswig War or Three Years' War was the first round of military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The war, which lasted from 1848–1851,...
, but his health did not allow him to continue. On his return home he painted "Reservesoldatens Afsked fra sin Familie" ("The Reserve Soldier’s Farewll from his Family”") which was exhibited in 1850, and which now hangs in the collection of the Danish National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst)
Statens Museum for Kunst
Statens Museum for Kunst is the Danish national gallery located in Copenhagen....
.
In the years 1851-1854 he exhibited only a single painting, while at the same time he completed several of his more important works. These include "Hvedebrødsmanden" ("Wheatbread Seller") painted in 1851 and which now hangs in the Hirschsprung Collection
Heinrich Hirschsprung
Heinrich Hirschsprung was a Danish tobacco manufacturer, arts patron and art collector, founder of the Hirschsprung Collection in Copenhagen, a museum dedicated to Danish art from the 19th and early 20th century....
, and "En jysk Faarehyrde paa Heden" ("A Jutland Shepherd on the Moor"), painted in 1853 and exhibited in 1855 in both Copenhagen and Paris. Vermehren comes into his own with these portraits of Jutlanders
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
in their native landscapes.
Travels
In 1855 Vermehren traveled with the Academy’s support for two years via Cologne, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, and Switzerland to ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(Cervera, Gerano, Florence, Venice and Rome). In Italy he painted interiors, street scenes, landscapes and figure studies. He also spent a short time in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where his work ("A Sheepherder from Jutland on the Prairie") was exhibited, and he also came to admire the work of the French colorists, in particular that of Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier
Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier
Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier was a French Classicist painter and sculptor famous for his depictions of Napoleon, his armies and military themes. He documented sieges and manoeuvres and was the teacher of Édouard Detaille.-Biography:Ernest Meissonier was born at Lyon...
. Several painting based on Italian themes were exhibited including "En italiensk Hyrdedreng" ("An Italian Shepherd") and "Parti fra Byen Gerano" ("View from the Town of Gerano"), both painted in 1858.
He married Thomasine Ludvigne Grimer on 7 July 1857.
After his return to Denmark Vermehren returned also to Danish themes, painting many character studies, interior scenes, landscapes and genre paintings which garnered awards and were purchased by Danish museums.
In 1862 he took his second large travel, a trip to Holland, Paris and Rome, with a stipend from the Ancker Fund (Anckerske Legat). His work was shown that same year at the international exhibition in London.
His son, Gustav, was born on 28 December 1863, and would grow up to be a genre painter like his father.
An artistic and Academic career
Vermehren became a member of the academy in 1864 and teacher in the School of Painting in 1865. Among his students was P.S. KrøyerPeder Severin Krøyer
Peder Severin Krøyer , known as P.S. Krøyer, was a Norwegian-Danish painter. He is one of the best known and beloved, and undeniably the most colorful of the Skagen Painters, a community of Danish and Nordic artists who lived, gathered or worked in Skagen, Denmark, especially during the final...
who studied at the school 1864-1870, Kristian Zahrtmann
Kristian Zahrtmann
Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, was a Danish painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and Theodor Esbern Philipsen, who broke away from both the strictures of traditional Academicism and the...
(1864-1868), Vilhelm Hammershøi
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Vilhelm Hammershøi , often written in English Vilhelm Hammershoi , was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, low-key portraits and interiors. In 1997, Denmark issued a postage stamp in his honor.-Life:...
, and Michael Peter Ancher
Michael Peter Ancher
Michael Peter Ancher was a Danish impressionist artist. He is most associated with his paintings of fishermen and other scenes from the Danish port of Skagen. His paintings are classics and he is probably one of Denmark's most popular artists.-Background:Michael Peter Ancher was born at Rutsker on...
..
He was a member of the Exhibition Committee at Charlottenborg in 1864. His work was exhibited at the pan-Nordic exhibition in 1872, 1883 and 1888. He was Professor in the School of Painting from 1873-1901.
He continued to paint character paintings and genre paintings of Danish scenes, but from 1870 on he was known primarily for his portraits. He painted portraits of the day’s important people, including painters Jørgen Sonne and P.C. Skovgaard, and sculptor Professor August Vilhelm Saabye.
He traveled to Paris in 1875. He taught at the school for Drawing and Applied Arts for Women between 1877-1907. His work was exhibited at the world exhibition in Paris in 1878.
He received a Treschow award in 1890, and was named honorary diplomat to Berlin in 1891 where his work was exhibited at the international art exhibition. He traveled to Berlin, Dresden, and Munich in 1883 along with architect, Ferdinand Meldahl.
He was given the honorable title Commander of the Dannebrog
Flag of Denmark
The national flag of Denmark, Dannebrog is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side...
in 1892. He served as a member of the Commission for National Purchase of Artworks between 1890-1896.
He discontinued teaching at the Academy in 1901.
His works were exhibited at the exhibition, “Danish Painters” at Guildhall
Guildhall, London
The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1907.
He died on 10 January 1910 in Copenhagen at the age of 86, and is buried in Assistens Cemetery.
Works
Since his death his works have been shown in numerous exhibitions in Denmark and also in Rome in 1977, where they were part of an exhibition of Danish paintings made in Rome during the 1800’s.His works are in the collection of many Danish museums including the National Art Museum (‘’Statens Museum for Kunst’’), the Hirschsprung Collection
Heinrich Hirschsprung
Heinrich Hirschsprung was a Danish tobacco manufacturer, arts patron and art collector, founder of the Hirschsprung Collection in Copenhagen, a museum dedicated to Danish art from the 19th and early 20th century....
, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark...
, and local art museums in Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, West Zealand, and Koldinghus
Kolding
Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...
.
His careful depictions of ordinary Danish country folk, and his attention to details have helped document a people imperiled by the advance of industrialism. As a painter he was not interested in the darker aspects of the farmer’s life, but preferred to show the ideal.