Aleksander Lauréus, also Alexander Lauraeus, (4 January 1783 – 21 October 1823) was a Finnish painter.

Family

Lauréus was born in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

to Lovisa Ulrika and Alexander Laureus, a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

, and was named after his paternal grandfather. Lauréus had at least 14 siblings, of which he was the second-born. His mother died in childbirth in 1794 after the seventh child was born. His father remarried to Maria Juliana Vinqvistin.

Early life

Lauréus was 11 years old when he started school in Turku Cathedral School and graduated from high school in 1800. At that time he was interested

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

's books. He studied at the drawing school in Turku, probably 1800–1802, when the teacher was Johan Erik Hedberg. In 1802 Laureus Turku Province Baron Olof Vibeliuksen lead a fundraising that raised 195 krones for a scholarship for Lauréus to attend the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

in Stockholm to study. Director at the time was

Lorens Pasch the Younger Lorens or Lorenz Pasch the Younger (1733–1805) was a Swedish painter. Life He grew up in an artistic family (he was the brother of Ulrika Pasch, alongside whom he was elected to the Art Academy in 1773), but his father Lorens Pasch the Elder w ...

, and was taught by among others,

Johan Tobias Sergel Johan Tobias Sergel (; 7 September 1740 in Stockholm – 26 February 1814 in Stockholm) was a Swedish neoclassical sculptor. Sergels torg, the largest square in the centre of Stockholm and near where his workshop stood, is named after him. Life ...

Louis Masreliez Louis Masreliez (1748 – 19 March 1810), born Adrien Louis Masreliez, was a French-born, Sweden, Swedish Painting, painter and interior designer. Biography Masreliez was born in Paris and came to Sweden at the age of 5 in 1753. He was the son o ...

Carl Frederik von Breda Carl Frederik von Breda (16 August 1759 – 1 December 1818) was a Swedish painter who studied in and spent much of his career in Britain before becoming painter to the Swedish court. He was born in Stockholm in 1759, and moved to Britain where ...

and

Pehr Hilleström Pehr Hilleström (18 November 1732 – 13 August 1816) was a Swedish artist. He served as a professor and director at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. Biography Hilleström was born on the island of Väddö in the district of Roslagen, S ...

. In the period 1804-1805 he studied at the upper primary level. He collected a 50 krone Drawing Prize, which allowed him travel home to Turku, and perhaps also to

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

Career

Lauréus painted his father and stepmother's portraits. He left Finland when it was annexed from Russia in 1809 and it became the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

. He became a royal court painter in 1811, and a became a member of the

Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki The Academy of Fine Arts (; ) in Helsinki, Finland is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and provides the highest university-level theoretical and practical training in the country in fine arts. Academy The Academy was founded in 184 ...

in 1812, and he worked for some time as a teacher at the

in Stockholm. In 1817 he was awarded a three-year scholarship to travel, so he left in September with Margaret to Paris. The trip took three months. In Paris, he studied at

Pierre-Narcisse Guérin Pierre-Narcisse, baron Guérin (13 March 1774 – 6 July 1833) was a French painter, born in Paris. Biography A pupil of Jean-Baptiste Regnault, he carried off one of the three ''grands prix'' offered in 1796, in consequence of the competitio ...

's studio from 1817 to 1820. In 1820 they traveled to Italy and Rome. Laureus fell ill 9 October 1823 and died on 21 October.

Works

Few paintings from his Paris trip survived, but the Roman period works are more abundant. Lauréus' paintings were exhibited as a special collection in Italy, Milan and Rome in 1937. His works can be found in many notable museums, including the

Ateneum Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It has ...

, the Turku,

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

and

Imatra Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima, Lake Saimaa and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the Imatra sub-regi ...

art museums, the

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...

, the

Gothenburg Museum of Art Gothenburg Museum of Art () is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden. It claims to be the third-largest art museum in Sweden by the size of its collection. Collections The museum holds the world's finest collection of late 19th-cen ...

, the

Stockholm City Museum The Stockholm City Museum () is a museum documenting, preserving and exhibiting the history of Stockholm. The museum is housed in Södra Stadshuset at Slussen on Södermalm. History The building was completed in 1685. In the 1930s the museum m ...

, and the

National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery () is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History It was established in 1842 following a parliamentary decision from 1836. Originally lo ...

References

* Alexander Laureus 1783–1823, a 200-year memorial exhibition, the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Sinebrychoff Art Museum, exhibition catalog, Helsinki 1983 {{DEFAULTSORT:Laureus, Aleksander 1783 births 1823 deaths Artists from Turku Finnish male painters 18th-century Finnish painters 18th-century Finnish male artists 19th-century Finnish painters 19th-century Finnish male artists