Daniel Herman Anton Melbye (13 February 1818,

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 ...

– 10 January 1875,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a Danish painter and photographer who specialized in maritime scenes. He was the brother of painters

Vilhelm Vilhelm is a masculine given name, the Scandinavian form of William and Wilhelm. Notable people with the name include: * Vilhelm Ahlmann (1852–1928), Danish-Swedish architect * Vilhelm Andersen (1864–1953), Danish author, literary historian ...

and

Fritz Melbye Fritz Sigfred Georg Melbye (24 August 1826 – 14 December 1869) 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 wel ...

Biography

His father was a Royal Customs officer. He had originally planned on a naval career but, because of his

myopia Myopia, also known as near-sightedness and short-sightedness, is an eye condition where light from distant objects focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry, while close objects appear normal. ...

, was sent to learn shipbuilding instead.Biographical notes
(in Danish). @ Kunstindeks Danmark. His inclinations for music and art asserted themselves, however, and he left engineering school to learn the guitar. Melbye Eddystone 1846

He also wanted to be a marine painter and attended the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

for a year, in 1838, taking C.W. Eckersberg as his mentor.Brief biography
(in Danish). @ Den Store Danske. By 1840, he was already exhibiting some seascapes that attracted the attention of the German art collector, Karl Friedrich von Rumohr. On his recommendation, Melbye accompanied King

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Fred ...

on his

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

for a voyage through the Baltic and North Seas. Soon after, he was invited to accompany the King on a voyage to Morocco, where he witnessed the Bombardment of Tangiers. In 1845, he applied to the Royal Academy for a travel scholarship, but was passed over. With the support of the King, he was awarded the money in 1846 and his painting of the

Eddystone Lighthouse The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 scale The current structu ...

was purchased for the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

. It also won the

Thorvaldsen Medal The Thorvaldsen Medal (Danish language, Danish: Thorvaldsens Medalje, Thorvaldsen Medaillen) is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest distinction within th ...

. This brought a rush of orders that forced him to postpone his trip.

Years in Paris

He finally arrived in Paris in 1847 and remained through the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

; receiving a year's extension on his scholarship. His name soon became known in local articles circles and he remained there even longer. In 1853, he was given the chance to travel with a French expedition to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. For a time, he lived with the French Ambassador,

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, and painted a portrait of Sultan

Abdülmecid I Abdülmecid I (, ; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories. Abdülmecid's ...

. During these years, he also received a commission from

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and learned how to take daguerrotypes directly from

Louis Daguerre Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre ( ; ; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a France, French scientist, artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of th ...

, just before his death. Fregatten Jylland

He was married in 1857 and returned to Denmark the following year. Upon his arrival, he was named a member of the Royal Academy and awarded the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. In 1862, he became a Professor. During his later years, he divided his time between Copenhagen,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and Paris. Despite his great success, he was often frustrated that everyone he met referred to his picture of the lighthouse as his greatest painting. Worsening health gradually affected his ability to paint, so he turned to charcoal and chalk sketches. He died during a stay in Paris and was buried there. His paintings are realistic, often enhanced with dramatic light and weather effects (he was especially fond of portraying inclement weather), and show the influence of

Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in landscape painting, his vast output si ...

, who he met in Paris.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Melbye.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melbye, Daniel Hermann Anton 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters 19th-century Danish photographers Danish marine artists 1818 births 1875 deaths Pioneers of photography Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Artists from Copenhagen Order of the Dannebrog 19th-century Danish male artists