Mads Alstrup (1808-1876) was the first Danish portrait photographer with his own studio. From the opening of his studio in 1842, until he left the country in 1858, he produced an estimated 33,000

daguerreotype Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photography, photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwid ...

s in the

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

area, before his business suffered beginning in 1857. He moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1858 and continued to take portraits there until he died in 1876. He is considered one of the pioneers of photography in Denmark.

Biography

Daguerreotype portraits in Denmark

Born in

Viborg, Denmark Viborg () is a city in central Jutland, Denmark, the capital of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the Courts of Denmark, High Court for the Jutland peninsula. Viborg Municipality ...

and trained as a goldsmith, Alstrup initially had a business in

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. In the summer of 1842, he moved to

and set up a daguerreotype studio behind the Hercules Pavilion in the

Rosenborg Castle Gardens Rosenborg Castle Gardens (Danish: ''Kongens Have''; literally ''The King's Garden'') is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV of Denmark, ...

. In this popular area of the city, he found many clients interested in having their portraits taken. He advertised an exposure time of 1 minute. From 1843 to 1848, he travelled around Denmark, spending a few days or weeks in different towns where he set up temporary studios. In 1849, he finally settled in Copenhagen, opening a studio at a central location on Østergade near

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...

. Constantly investing in new equipment, the quality of his work improved over time. It is estimated he produced 33,000 daguerreotypes in the 16 years he worked in Denmark.

Swedish period

After leaving Denmark in 1857, Alstrup moved to Sweden where he was nomadic, similar to his early Danish career. In 1859, he was in Hälsingborg and

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

and in 1860,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

where he stayed for a few years. In 1863, he practiced in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

with G.S. Ekeund. He died in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

, Sweden, in 1876.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alstrup, Mads 1808 births 1876 deaths 19th-century Danish photographers People from Viborg Municipality Photographers from Copenhagen Pioneers of photography

Biography

Daguerreotype portraits in Denmark

Swedish period

See also

References