Vilhelm Melbye
Encyclopedia
Vilhelm Melbye was a Danish
marine art
ist, the brother of Anton Melbye
and Fritz Melbye
. He worked in London
from 1853 to 1866 and, over the course of his career, painted seascapes, coastal and harbor scenes, sailing vessels and topographical subjects in many parts of Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region
.
.
In 1847, he went on his first journey, to Iceland
aboard the corvette Valkyrien, and the following year he traveled to Paris
by way of Düsseldorf
. In Paris he studied with Théodore Gudin (1802–1880) before returning to Denmark in 1849.
From 1853 to 1866, he lived in London
and it was here he changed his name from Vilhelm to Wilhelm.
He was appointed Professor at the academy in Copenhagen in 1880 but died in 1882 in Roskilde
. He is interred at Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen
.
, especially Andreas Achenbach
.
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...
marine art
Marine art
Marine art or maritime art is any form of figurative art that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre particularly strong from the 17th to 19th centuries...
ist, the brother of Anton Melbye
Anton Melbye
Daniel Hermann Anton Melbye was a Danish painter. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and was a private student of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg...
and Fritz Melbye
Fritz Melbye
Fritz Melbye was a Danish marine painter, the brother of Anton Melbye and Vilhelm Melbye who were also marine painters. He traveled widely, painting seascapes, coastal and harbour scenes as well as some landscapes in Europe, the Caribbean, Venezuela, North America and Asia.-Biography:Fritz Melbye...
. He worked in 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...
from 1853 to 1866 and, over the course of his career, painted seascapes, coastal and harbor scenes, sailing vessels and topographical subjects in many parts of Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
.
Biography
Knud Frederik Vilhelm Hannibal Melbye was born on 14 May 1824 in Elsinore, Denmark. He first trained to become a merchant but then turned to painting, studying under his older brother Anton, already an established marine painter, and attending the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1844 to 1847. He also took private classes in perspective drawing with Carl DahlCarl Dahl
Niels Carl Michaelius Flindt Dahl, usually known as Carl Dahl, was a Danish marine painter during the Golden Age of Danish Painting.-Biography:...
.
In 1847, he went on his first journey, to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
aboard the corvette Valkyrien, and the following year he traveled 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...
by way of Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. In Paris he studied with Théodore Gudin (1802–1880) before returning to Denmark in 1849.
From 1853 to 1866, he lived in 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...
and it was here he changed his name from Vilhelm to Wilhelm.
He was appointed Professor at the academy in Copenhagen in 1880 but died in 1882 in Roskilde
Roskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
. He is interred at Assistens Cemetery 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...
.
Works
Vilhelm Melbye preferred a realistic style, often also with romantic or dramatic scenes. Many of his works depict southern European coastal or harbor views. He was influenced by his older brother and teacher Anton Melbye but another important influence in his oeuvre was the Düsseldorf SchoolDüsseldorf School
The Düsseldorf school of painting refers to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy in the 1830s and 1840s, when the Academy was directed by the painter Wilhelm von Schadow...
, especially Andreas Achenbach
Andreas Achenbach
Andreas Achenbach was a German landscape painter.Born at Kassel, he began his art education in 1827 in Düsseldorf under Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow at the Düsseldorf Academy of Painting. He studied at St Petersburg and travelled in Italy, Holland and Scandinavia...
.
See also
- Art of DenmarkArt of DenmarkDanish art goes back thousands of years with significant artifacts from the 2nd millennium BC, such as the Trundholm sun chariot. Art from modern Denmark forms part of the art of the Nordic Bronze Age, and then Norse and Viking art...
- List of painters from Denmark