Johan Edvard Mandelberg
Encyclopedia
Johan Edvard Mandelberg Swedish
-born painter living in Denmark
, was born at sea during a voyage between Stockholm
and Livland, Sweden.
Johan Edvard Mandelberg and his wife Hedvig Sophia. His father taught him to draw and paint, and he worked in his father’s workshop in Stockholm. On seeing a battle picture by Johan Philip Lembke at Drottningholm Palace
, Johan became determined also to paint battle scenes.
Since there was no possibility in Sweden for him to get the necessary training for his ambitions, he received financial backing from three supporters who sent him to Paris
in 1752. He went to Paris by way of Copenhagen
along with Norwegian
-born medallionist Magnus Gustavus Arbien (1716-1760). It was in Copenhagen that he became acquainted with Carl Gustaf Pilo
(1712/1713?-1793), professor at the Drawing and Painting Academy, predecessor to the Royal Danish Academy of Art
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi).
, and fellow Swede Alexander Roslin
(1718-1798).
He found work at François Boucher
’s atelier in 1753. He was impoverished, and made small battle pictures in pen and ink, as well as copies of paintings to supplement his meager earnings.
Arbien helped Mandelburg secure financial support by contacting Pilo in Copenhagen, who then interested the Danish Legation secretary to the French Court in Paris Justitsråd Joachim Wasserschlebe, foreign minister Count Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff and Adam Gottlob Moltke
, and finally through them King Frederick V of Denmark
. The King's support was generous, but conditional-- Mandelburg would need to commit himself to Denmark and his Court.
, where from late 1755 he came into the antique art enthusiast circle around Danish Johannes Wiedewelt
, Italian Pompeo Batoni
and German Anton Raphael Mengs
. Wiedewelt would become a lifelong friend.
He painted several battle scenes in Rome, among which were paintings made for Wiedewelt, and for Court Marshall Bülow.
On July 1, 1758 he traveled back to Denmark
in the company of Wiedelwelt. They traveled over Caprarola
, Siena
, Florence
, Pisa
, Carrara
, Lucca
, Bologna
, Padua
, Venice
, and Trieste
where they studied the local art collections and churches, and on through the Tyrol
and Germany
. They arrived back to Copenhagen
on October 6, 1758.
(Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi). When sculptor Johan Christof Petzold died in 1763, Mandelberg was granted his vacated professorship.
He married Anna Margaretha Meyer on May 26, 1781. She died May 5, 1823.
He had plenty of work, but unfortunately there came no assignments for him in his specialty area of battle painting; but he would have to be named historical
and battle painter for the royal court in order to win these projects. He was mostly employed painting mythological
paintings, depictions of courtly life, and decorations paintings. Among these were many large pictures and decorations for the royal palaces. He was so busy that he had to use extra help from competent students at the Academy such as Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard
, with whom he would again work together on decorations to the Knights' Room at Christiansborg Palace
.
He died on January 8, 1786 in Copenhagen
.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-born painter living in Denmark
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...
, was born at sea during a voyage between Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and Livland, Sweden.
Mandelberg seeks training
He was born to painterPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
Johan Edvard Mandelberg and his wife Hedvig Sophia. His father taught him to draw and paint, and he worked in his father’s workshop in Stockholm. On seeing a battle picture by Johan Philip Lembke at Drottningholm Palace
Drottningholm Palace
The Drottningholm Palace is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. It is built on the island Lovön , and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a residence of the Swedish royal court for most of...
, Johan became determined also to paint battle scenes.
Since there was no possibility in Sweden for him to get the necessary training for his ambitions, he received financial backing from three supporters who sent him to 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...
in 1752. He went to Paris by way of 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...
along with Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
-born medallionist Magnus Gustavus Arbien (1716-1760). It was in Copenhagen that he became acquainted with Carl Gustaf Pilo
Carl Gustaf Pilo
Carl Gustaf Pilo was a Swedish-born artist and painter, one of many 18th century European artists who had to leave their own country in order to make a living. Pilo worked extensively in Denmark as a painter to the Danish Court and as professor and director at the Royal Danish Academy of Art ,...
(1712/1713?-1793), professor at the Drawing and Painting Academy, predecessor to 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).
He comes to Paris
He came to Paris with good recommendations and came into the leading French art circles where he caught the attention and interest of Count Philippe de Caylus, renowned artist François BoucherFrançois Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
, and fellow Swede Alexander Roslin
Alexander Roslin
Alexander Roslin was a Swedish portrait painter.-Life:Roslin was born on July 15, 1718, in Malmö, Sweden. In 1759 he married Marie-Suzanne Giroust. He plied his trade in Stockholm, Bayreuth, Vienna, Paris and Italy...
(1718-1798).
He found work at François Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
’s atelier in 1753. He was impoverished, and made small battle pictures in pen and ink, as well as copies of paintings to supplement his meager earnings.
Arbien helped Mandelburg secure financial support by contacting Pilo in Copenhagen, who then interested the Danish Legation secretary to the French Court in Paris Justitsråd Joachim Wasserschlebe, foreign minister Count Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff and Adam Gottlob Moltke
Adam Gottlob Moltke
Count Adam Gottlob Moltke , Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat, born at Riesenhof in Mecklenburg.-Early life:...
, and finally through them King Frederick V of Denmark
Frederick V of Denmark
Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:...
. The King's support was generous, but conditional-- Mandelburg would need to commit himself to Denmark and his Court.
Subsequent training in Rome
After his three-year studies in Paris he went on to RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where from late 1755 he came into the antique art enthusiast circle around Danish 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...
, Italian Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...
and German Anton Raphael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs was a German painter, active in Rome, Madrid and Saxony, who became one of the precursors to Neoclassical painting.- Biography :Mengs was born in 1728 at Ústí nad Labem in Bohemia...
. Wiedewelt would become a lifelong friend.
He painted several battle scenes in Rome, among which were paintings made for Wiedewelt, and for Court Marshall Bülow.
On July 1, 1758 he traveled back to Denmark
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...
in the company of Wiedelwelt. They traveled over Caprarola
Caprarola
Caprarola is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The village is situated in a range of volcanic hills known as the Cimini Mounts....
, Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
, Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, and Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
where they studied the local art collections and churches, and on through the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. They arrived back 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...
on October 6, 1758.
Career in Copenhagen
Only 4 years after its opening in 1754, he was accepted as a member of the Royal Danish Academy of ArtRoyal 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). When sculptor Johan Christof Petzold died in 1763, Mandelberg was granted his vacated professorship.
He married Anna Margaretha Meyer on May 26, 1781. She died May 5, 1823.
He had plenty of work, but unfortunately there came no assignments for him in his specialty area of battle painting; but he would have to be named historical
History painting
History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...
and battle painter for the royal court in order to win these projects. He was mostly employed painting mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
paintings, depictions of courtly life, and decorations paintings. Among these were many large pictures and decorations for the royal palaces. He was so busy that he had to use extra help from competent students at the Academy such as Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard
Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard
Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard , Danish artist, was born in Copenhagen, the son of Søren Abildgaard, an antiquarian draughtsman of repute, and Anne Margrethe Bastholm.- Training as an artist :...
, with whom he would again work together on decorations to the Knights' Room at Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace, , on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the seat of the Folketing , the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court...
.
He died on January 8, 1786 in 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...
.