Kristian Zahrtmann
Encyclopedia
Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 - 22 June 1917) 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 heritage of the Golden Age of Danish Painting
, in favor of naturalism
and realism
.
He was known especially for his history painting
s, and especially those depicting strong, tragic, legendary women in Danish history. He also produced works of many other genres including landscapes, street scenes, folk scenes and portraits.
He had a far-reaching effect on the development of Danish art through his effective support of individual style among his students during the many years he taught, and by his pioneering use of color.
, Denmark on the island of Bornholm
to chief doctor for the island Carl Vilhelm Zahrtmann and wife Laura Pauline. He was the oldest child among seven boys and two girls. After graduating from Rønne Realskole at seventeen years of age, he was sent to Sorø Academy
, where he studied painting with landscape
painter Johannes Georg Smith Harder (also known as Hans Harder). He was often a guest at the home of the Academy’s Director, poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann and his wife, where he had the chance to socialize with teachers of the school and other guests, such as Hans Christian Andersen. He graduated in 1862, and received his cand. phil in 1863. During these years he lived with a family whose daughter was a painter, which inspired him also to try his luck as an artist.
After graduating he came to Copenhagen, where during the winter 1863-1864 he studied drawing at the Technical Institute under Christian Hetsch and architect Ferdinand Vilhelm. Jensen. He also received private instruction from genre painter Wenzel Ulrich Tornøe during this same time. He then began his studies in October 1864 at the Royal Danish Academy of Art
where he studied under Johan Adolph Kittendorff, Wilhelm Marstrand
, Jørgen Roed
, Niels Simonsen, and Frederik Vermehren
, a fellow graduate of Sorø Academy. Classmates included August Jerndorff
, Peder Severin Krøyer
and Rasmus Frederik Hendriksen.
the following year with "En Konfirmandinde paa Bornholm" ("A Young Girl Being Confirmed on Bornholm"). He exhibited regularly at Charlottenborg 1869-1891, and sporadically afterwards.
He became friends with painter Otto Carl Bentzon Haslund and Pietro Købke Krohn, later Museum Director, with whom he shared a studio.
Countess Leonora Christina of Schleswig-Holstein
, King Christian IV
's daughter by his morganatic
love marriage to a noble Danish maiden, had fallen from grace because of her husband Corfits Ulfeldt
's high treason. She was then imprisoned for 22 years in the Blue Tower (Blåtårn
) in Copenhagen Castle, and spent her final years in the solitude of Maribo
cloister.
Zahrtmann commemorated her story in a series of 18 large paintings over many years. The first of these paintings was made public in 1871, Slotsfogden skjæmter med Kvinderne i den nylig fængslede Kongedatters Kammer paa Blaataarn ("Castle Keeper Banters with Women in the Chamber of the King's Daughter in the Blue Tower"). The painting won him a Neuhausen Prize (Neuhausenske Præmie’), was sold to Niels Laurits Høyen's influential Art Union (Kunstforeningen), and was followed by a series of other paintings on the same theme. These paintings established his reputation as one of the leading artists of his time.
Other pictures in the series include: 1873 Leonora Christina forlader Fængselet ("Leonora Christina leaves Prison"), 1875 Leonora Christina i Fængselet ("Leonora Christina in Prison") in the Hirschsprung Collection; Corfits Ulfeldt og Leonora Christina ("Corfitz Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina"); 1882 Dronning Sophie Amalies Død ("Queen Sophie Amalie’s Death") and 1883 Leonora Christina paa Maribo Kloster ("Leonora Christina at Maribo Cloister") both in the collection of the Danish National Gallery
; and three versions (1886, 1888 and 1894) of Leonora Christina undersøges af Sophie Amalies Tjenerinder ("Leonora Christina Undressed and Searched by Sophie Amalie’s Maids") in the Hirschsprung Collection
.
At the same time he explored other motifs, although Leonora Christina was an obsession that followed him throughout life. In 1872 he made a portrait of Georg Brandes
, who summered near Zahrtmann at Christiansholm near Klampenborg
north of Copenhagen.
In 1873 he won another Neuhausen Prize for Sigbrit gennemgår toldregnskaberne med Christian II ("Sigbrit Reviews Tax Accounts with Christian II"), and exhibited a preparatory painting for Job og hans Venner ("Job and His Friends"), which won him the Academy’s gold medallion. The final painting of "Job and His Friends" won him the Academy’s gold medallion in 1887, and is considered one of his masterpieces.
In 1873 he also painted "Scene from the Court of Christian VII 1772" to retell the tragic story of Queen Caroline Matilda
on the centenniel of the fall of Johann Friedrich Struensee
. The painting is in the Hirschsprung Collection
. Characteristically for Zahrtmann he made several other paintings over the years depicting the story of these main characters.
Professor David Loshack was interested in Zahrtmann's works and rather special colours.
(Helsingør municipality
) in the company of fellow painters Peder Severin Krøyer
and Viggo Johansen
.
He finally traveled to Italy in December 1875 with financing from his father, before he received a travel grant from the Academy. 1875-1878 he resided in Italy (Rome
, Siena
, Amalfi
and Saracinesco
), where he produced a number of paintings. He traveled afterwards many times again to Italy, including in 1882-1884 on an Ancher Fund grant along with artists Joakim Frederik Skovgaard, Theodor Esbern Philipsen, and Viggo Pedersen. He was fascinated by the life there, the strong Italian sun, the brightness of colors, and the exoticness of Catholic Church rites which he depicted in many paintings.
He traveled for the first time to the mountain town of Civita d'Antino
in June 1883, a town he came to consider his second home. He spent every summer 1890-1911 in Civita d'Antino, where he lived with the Cerroni family, and gathered friends and students in an annual artist colony
. He was named an honorary citizen of the town in 1902.
He also traveled to Greece several times, as well as to France and Portugal.
He exhibited at the World’s Exhibition in Paris 1878, 1889, 1900 and in Chicago 1893.
was established in the winter 1882-1883 as a protest against the Art Academy’s policies, and as an alternative to its educational program. It was led by Laurits Tuxen
and had Peder Severin Krøyer
as one of its teachers. Zahrtmann taught at the school 1885-1908. In 1893 he became the leader of its preparatory class which under him turned into an independent department. He had some 200 students from the Scandinavian countries. Because of his prominence as a teacher the school was often simply referred to as "Zahrtmann’s School". Some of his students included Funen
artists Peter Hansen
, Fritz Syberg
, Poul S. Christiansen, Johannes Larsen
and Oluf Hartmann; and modern painters Karl Isakson
, Edvard Weie
, Harald Giersing
and Olaf Rude
.
He helped establish the "Free Exhibition" (Den frie Udstilling), an alternative exhibition space, which opened in 1891.
.
In 1900 he wintered over in Portofino where he painted the color-drenched landscapes "Havnen i Portofino, 1900" ("Harbour in Portofino, 1900") (1900) and "Min frokostbord i Portofino, 1900" ("My Lunch Table in Portofino, 1900") (1900).
He won a bronze medallion at the World Exhibition in Paris 1900.
In his later life he painted a series of picture based on men in mythology: "Prometheus" (1905), "Sokrates and Alkibides" (1907, 1911), and "Adam in Paradise" (1913–14). The large format "Adam in Paradise" is suggestively homoerotic
, with its vital, young, muscular Adam coyly leaning back in a lush, color-drenched botanic paradise, while the snake is arched half-way up his leg, its tongue darting, and Adam conceals himself casually with a sprig of fig leaves.
He also painted a number of self portraits in his later years, including one painted in 1913, which is considered one of his finest works. It is in the collection of the National Historic Museum at Frederiksborg Palace
.
He bought land and built a house on Fuglebakken in Frederiksberg
, which was designed by Hans Koch and Zahrtmann himself. He called the house "Casa d’Antino", and moved in autumn 1912.
He appeared in a 1913 silent-era documentary film about himself entitled "Kristian Zahrtmann", which was directed by Sophus Wangøe, also known as Sophus Wangöe.
In June 1917 he was hospitalised with appendicitis
. After an apparent improvement his condition worsened, and he died on 22 June in Frederiksberg. He was buried in Vestre Cemetery
, Copenhagen. A relief
with the theme of "Leonora Christina leaves the Prison" decorates his grave. The relief was drawn by architect Thorvald Bindesbøll
and painter Joakim Skovgaard, and was carved from Bornholm granite by Larsen Stevns.
In Civita d’Antino a memorial plaque was set into the wall of the Cerroni house near the town gate. A monument with a statue of Zahrtmann was erected on the open plaza in front of his house, and the plaza is named after him.
He never married. It is widely reported that he was a latent homosexual
.
A portrait of him by Vilhelm Hammershøi
(1899) is found in the Hirschsprung Collection.
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
Painting
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...
. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer
Peder 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...
and Theodor Esbern Philipsen
Theodor Philipsen
Theodor Philipsen was a Danish painter.Philipsen has been considered an innovator of 19th century Danish art. He took Danish art into a new level of impressionism and naturalism. He was influenced by French art, this influence beginning in his first time in Paris from 1874–1876...
, who broke away from both the strictures of traditional Academicism
Academic art
Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...
and the heritage of 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...
, in favor of naturalism
Naturalism (art)
Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting. The Realism movement of the 19th century advocated naturalism in reaction to the stylized and idealized depictions of subjects in Romanticism, but many painters have adopted a similar approach over the centuries...
and realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
.
He was known especially for his history painting
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...
s, and especially those depicting strong, tragic, legendary women in Danish history. He also produced works of many other genres including landscapes, street scenes, folk scenes and portraits.
He had a far-reaching effect on the development of Danish art through his effective support of individual style among his students during the many years he taught, and by his pioneering use of color.
Youth and artistic training
He was born in RønneRønne
Rønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,904 . Once a municipality in its own right, it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality....
, Denmark on the island of Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
to chief doctor for the island Carl Vilhelm Zahrtmann and wife Laura Pauline. He was the oldest child among seven boys and two girls. After graduating from Rønne Realskole at seventeen years of age, he was sent to 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...
, where he studied painting with 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). He was often a guest at the home of the Academy’s Director, poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann and his wife, where he had the chance to socialize with teachers of the school and other guests, such as Hans Christian Andersen. He graduated in 1862, and received his cand. phil in 1863. During these years he lived with a family whose daughter was a painter, which inspired him also to try his luck as an artist.
After graduating he came to Copenhagen, where during the winter 1863-1864 he studied drawing at the Technical Institute under Christian Hetsch and architect Ferdinand Vilhelm. Jensen. He also received private instruction from genre painter Wenzel Ulrich Tornøe during this same time. He then began his studies in October 1864 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...
where he studied under Johan Adolph Kittendorff, Wilhelm Marstrand
Wilhelm Marstrand
Nicolai Wilhelm Nikolaj Marstrand , painter and illustrator, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to Nicolai Jacob Marstrand, instrument maker and inventor, and Petra Othilia Smith...
, 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:...
, Niels Simonsen, and Frederik Vermehren
Frederik Vermehren
Johan Frederik Nikolai Vermehren, also known as Frederik Vermehren, , 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...
, a fellow graduate of Sorø Academy. Classmates included August Jerndorff
August Jerndorff
August Andreas Jerndorff was a Danish painter who is best known for his portraits.-Biography:August Jarndorff was born on 25 January 1846 in Oldenburg. His parents were Just Jerndorff, painter to the Oldenburg Court, and Nancy Caroline née Jones He attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts...
, Peder Severin Krøyer
Peder 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...
and Rasmus Frederik Hendriksen.
Artistic career begins
He graduated from the Academy in 1868, and exhibited for the first time at CharlottenborgCharlottenborg 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...
the following year with "En Konfirmandinde paa Bornholm" ("A Young Girl Being Confirmed on Bornholm"). He exhibited regularly at Charlottenborg 1869-1891, and sporadically afterwards.
He became friends with painter Otto Carl Bentzon Haslund and Pietro Købke Krohn, later Museum Director, with whom he shared a studio.
Leonora Christina and other historical subjects
He had already become interested in the story of the heroic 17th century daughter of a Danish king, Leonora Christina Ulfeldt (also known as Eleanor Christine), before the 1869 posthumous publication of her 1674 autobiographical narrative Jammers Minde ("Remembrance of Misery"), which he had received as a birthday gift from Haslund and Krohn.Countess Leonora Christina of Schleswig-Holstein
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864...
, 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...
's daughter by his morganatic
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
love marriage to a noble Danish maiden, had fallen from grace because of her husband Corfits Ulfeldt
Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606-1664)
Count Corfits Ulfeldt , Danish statesman, was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. After a careful education abroad, concluding with one year under Cesare Cremonini at Padua, he returned to Denmark in 1629 and quickly won the favor of King Christian IV...
's high treason. She was then imprisoned for 22 years in the Blue Tower (Blåtårn
Blåtårn
Blåtårn was a tower at the royal Danish palace of Copenhagen Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. The tower was used as a prison and has been known as such in history...
) in Copenhagen Castle, and spent her final years in the solitude of Maribo
Maribo
Maribo is a town in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. To the north of Maribo is Nørresø and to the south is Søndersø . Søndersø is the largest lake on Lolland...
cloister.
Zahrtmann commemorated her story in a series of 18 large paintings over many years. The first of these paintings was made public in 1871, Slotsfogden skjæmter med Kvinderne i den nylig fængslede Kongedatters Kammer paa Blaataarn ("Castle Keeper Banters with Women in the Chamber of the King's Daughter in the Blue Tower"). The painting won him a Neuhausen Prize (Neuhausenske Præmie’), was sold to Niels Laurits Høyen's influential Art Union (Kunstforeningen), and was followed by a series of other paintings on the same theme. These paintings established his reputation as one of the leading artists of his time.
Other pictures in the series include: 1873 Leonora Christina forlader Fængselet ("Leonora Christina leaves Prison"), 1875 Leonora Christina i Fængselet ("Leonora Christina in Prison") in the Hirschsprung Collection; Corfits Ulfeldt og Leonora Christina ("Corfitz Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina"); 1882 Dronning Sophie Amalies Død ("Queen Sophie Amalie’s Death") and 1883 Leonora Christina paa Maribo Kloster ("Leonora Christina at Maribo Cloister") both in the collection of the Danish National Gallery
Statens Museum for Kunst
Statens Museum for Kunst is the Danish national gallery located in Copenhagen....
; and three versions (1886, 1888 and 1894) of Leonora Christina undersøges af Sophie Amalies Tjenerinder ("Leonora Christina Undressed and Searched by Sophie Amalie’s Maids") 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....
.
At the same time he explored other motifs, although Leonora Christina was an obsession that followed him throughout life. In 1872 he made a portrait of Georg Brandes
Georg Brandes
Georg Morris Cohen Brandes was a Danish critic and scholar who had great influence on Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind the "Modern Breakthrough" of Scandinavian culture...
, who summered near Zahrtmann at Christiansholm near Klampenborg
Klampenborg
Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with many large houses....
north of Copenhagen.
In 1873 he won another Neuhausen Prize for Sigbrit gennemgår toldregnskaberne med Christian II ("Sigbrit Reviews Tax Accounts with Christian II"), and exhibited a preparatory painting for Job og hans Venner ("Job and His Friends"), which won him the Academy’s gold medallion. The final painting of "Job and His Friends" won him the Academy’s gold medallion in 1887, and is considered one of his masterpieces.
In 1873 he also painted "Scene from the Court of Christian VII 1772" to retell the tragic story of Queen Caroline Matilda
Caroline Matilda of Wales
Caroline Matilda of Great Britain was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1766 to 1772 and a member of the British Royal Family.-Early life:...
on the centenniel of the fall of Johann Friedrich Struensee
Johann Friedrich Struensee
Count Johann Friedrich Struensee was a German doctor. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish government. He rose in power to a position of “de facto” regent of the country, where he tried to carry out widespread reforms...
. The painting is 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....
. Characteristically for Zahrtmann he made several other paintings over the years depicting the story of these main characters.
Professor David Loshack was interested in Zahrtmann's works and rather special colours.
Student travels
He tried to extract a travel stipend from the Academy three times, which should have been due him as winner of the large gold medal, but the funds were not forthcoming until two years later. Zahrtmann spends the summer of 1873 at HornbækHornbæk
Hornbæk is a seaside resort town on the north coast of the Danish island of Zealand, facing the Øresund which separates Denmark from Sweden. It is part of Helsingør Municipality and is located 12 km north-west of Elsinore, and is mainly known for its mundane holiday homes and broad sandy beaches.As...
(Helsingør municipality
Helsingør municipality
Helsingør Kommune , is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 122 km², and has a total population of 60,844...
) in the company of fellow painters Peder Severin Krøyer
Peder 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...
and Viggo Johansen
Viggo Johansen
Viggo Johansen was a Danish painter and active member of the group of Skagen Painters who met every summer in the north of Jutland. He was one of Denmark's most prominent painters in the 1890s.-Career:...
.
He finally traveled to Italy in December 1875 with financing from his father, before he received a travel grant from the Academy. 1875-1878 he resided in Italy (Rome
Rome
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...
, 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...
, Amalfi
Amalfi
Amalfi is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, c. 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto , surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery...
and Saracinesco
Saracinesco
Saracinesco is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about 40 km northeast of Rome. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 169 and an area of 11.0 km²....
), where he produced a number of paintings. He traveled afterwards many times again to Italy, including in 1882-1884 on an Ancher Fund grant along with artists Joakim Frederik Skovgaard, Theodor Esbern Philipsen, and Viggo Pedersen. He was fascinated by the life there, the strong Italian sun, the brightness of colors, and the exoticness of Catholic Church rites which he depicted in many paintings.
He traveled for the first time to the mountain town of Civita d'Antino
Civita d'Antino
Civita d'Antino is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy.-History:Antinum, a city of the Marsians, was situated on a lofty hill in the upper valley of the Liri river , about 25 km from Sora and 10 km from the Lake Fucinus, from which it...
in June 1883, a town he came to consider his second home. He spent every summer 1890-1911 in Civita d'Antino, where he lived with the Cerroni family, and gathered friends and students in an annual artist colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
. He was named an honorary citizen of the town in 1902.
He also traveled to Greece several times, as well as to France and Portugal.
He exhibited at the World’s Exhibition in Paris 1878, 1889, 1900 and in Chicago 1893.
Beyond painting
The Artists Studio SchoolKunstnernes Frie Studieskoler
Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler was a Danish art school established in Copenhagen in 1882 as a protest against the policies of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and to provide an alternative to its educational program...
was established in the winter 1882-1883 as a protest against the Art Academy’s policies, and as an alternative to its educational program. It was led by Laurits Tuxen
Laurits Tuxen
Laurits Tuxen was a Danish painter and sculptor, sculptor, specialising in figure painting. He was also associated with the Skagen Painters...
and had Peder Severin Krøyer
Peder 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...
as one of its teachers. Zahrtmann taught at the school 1885-1908. In 1893 he became the leader of its preparatory class which under him turned into an independent department. He had some 200 students from the Scandinavian countries. Because of his prominence as a teacher the school was often simply referred to as "Zahrtmann’s School". Some of his students included Funen
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...
artists Peter Hansen
Peter Hansen (painter)
Peter Marius Hansen was a Danish painter who became one of the Fynboerne or "Funen Painters" group living and working on the island of Funen.-Biography:...
, Fritz Syberg
Fritz Syberg
Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Syberg, generally known as Fritz Syberg, was a Danish painter and illustrator, one of the reactionary Fynboerne or "Funen Painters" group living and working on the island of Funen.-Biography:Syberg, from a poor background in Fåborg, first served a house...
, Poul S. Christiansen, Johannes Larsen
Johannes Larsen
Johannes Larsen was a Danish nature painter.-Biography:Born in Kerteminde on Funen, Larsen studied art at the Free School in Copenhagen under Kristian Zahrtmann in the 1880s. There he met other painters from Funen, notably Fritz Syberg and Peter Hansen, both from the southern port of Faaborg, and...
and Oluf Hartmann; and modern painters Karl Isakson
Karl Isakson
Karl Oscar Isakson was a Swedish painter who spent much of his professional life in Denmark where he is considered to be one of the fathers of Modernism. He had close associations with the Bornholm school of painters and made many paintings of Christiansø.-Biography:Isakson was brought up in...
, Edvard Weie
Edvard Weie
Viggo Thorvald Edvard Weie was a Danish painter. His style was influenced by journeys to Italy and Paris where he came into contact with French impressionists such as Cézanne....
, Harald Giersing
Harald Giersing
Harald Giersing , a Danish painter, was instrumental in developing the classic modernism movement in Denmark around 1910-1920...
and Olaf Rude
Olaf Rude
Olaf Rude was a Danish painter who was born in Estonia. As a child, he moved with his family to Frejlev on the island of Lolland. He is remembered in particular for his paintings of oak trees at Skejten on Lolland, two of which can be seen at Christiansborg.In 1905, he studied at the Copenhagen...
.
He helped establish the "Free Exhibition" (Den frie Udstilling), an alternative exhibition space, which opened in 1891.
Later artistic career
He made a number of portraits of his parents, including one of his father in 1887 and one of his mother, who played a significant role in his life, in 1899-1901. These, as well as a large format painting of both parents in their living room from 1895–1901, are in the collection of the Bornholm Art MuseumBornholm Art Museum
The Bornholm Art Museum is situated on the Danish island of Bornholm, above the Sanctuary Rocks about six kilometres north-west of Gudhjem. The building was constructed in 1993 and enlarged in 2003...
.
In 1900 he wintered over in Portofino where he painted the color-drenched landscapes "Havnen i Portofino, 1900" ("Harbour in Portofino, 1900") (1900) and "Min frokostbord i Portofino, 1900" ("My Lunch Table in Portofino, 1900") (1900).
He won a bronze medallion at the World Exhibition in Paris 1900.
In his later life he painted a series of picture based on men in mythology: "Prometheus" (1905), "Sokrates and Alkibides" (1907, 1911), and "Adam in Paradise" (1913–14). The large format "Adam in Paradise" is suggestively homoerotic
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, with its vital, young, muscular Adam coyly leaning back in a lush, color-drenched botanic paradise, while the snake is arched half-way up his leg, its tongue darting, and Adam conceals himself casually with a sprig of fig leaves.
He also painted a number of self portraits in his later years, including one painted in 1913, which is considered one of his finest works. It is in the collection of the National Historic Museum at Frederiksborg Palace
Frederiksborg Palace
Frederiksborg castle is a castle in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV, and is now known as The Museum of National History. The current building replaced a previous castle erected by Frederick II, and is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia...
.
He bought land and built a house on Fuglebakken in 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...
, which was designed by Hans Koch and Zahrtmann himself. He called the house "Casa d’Antino", and moved in autumn 1912.
He appeared in a 1913 silent-era documentary film about himself entitled "Kristian Zahrtmann", which was directed by Sophus Wangøe, also known as Sophus Wangöe.
In June 1917 he was hospitalised with appendicitis
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is classified as a medical emergency and many cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of the risk of rupture leading to...
. After an apparent improvement his condition worsened, and he died on 22 June in Frederiksberg. He was buried in Vestre Cemetery
Vestre Cemetery
Vestre Cemetery is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark.Beautifully landscaped, it also serves as an important open space,...
, Copenhagen. A relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
with the theme of "Leonora Christina leaves the Prison" decorates his grave. The relief was drawn by architect Thorvald Bindesbøll
Thorvald Bindesbøll
Thorvald Bindesbøll was a Danish architect. He was one of Denmark's most important architects at the turn of the twentieth century....
and painter Joakim Skovgaard, and was carved from Bornholm granite by Larsen Stevns.
In Civita d’Antino a memorial plaque was set into the wall of the Cerroni house near the town gate. A monument with a statue of Zahrtmann was erected on the open plaza in front of his house, and the plaza is named after him.
He never married. It is widely reported that he was a latent homosexual
Latent homosexuality
Latent homosexuality is an erotic inclination toward members of the same sex that is not consciously experienced or expressed in overt action...
.
A portrait of him by 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:...
(1899) is found in the Hirschsprung Collection.
Other works
- "San Lidano fest i Civita d’Antino" ("San Lidano Celebration in Civita d’Antino") (1890), Privately owned.
- "Kejser og kejserinde Friedrich på villa Carnazvore i oktober 1887" ("Kaiser Friedrich and wife at villa Carnazvore, October 1887") (1900), Privately owned
- "Det mystiske bryllup mellem biskoppen og abbedissen af Pistoja fejres uden for S. Peitro år 1500" ("The Mystical Wedding between the Bishop and the Abbess of Pistoja is celebrated outside of St. Peters in the year 1500") (1894–1895), Bornholm Art Museum.