Cladius (Claus) Detlev Fritzsch (10 June 1765 – 17 November 1841), normally referred to as C. D. Fritzsch, was a Danish flower painter.

Biography

Fritzsch was born on 10 June 1765 in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

. He traveled to

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 ...

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 ...

from 1786, winning its small silver medal in 1790. He first worked in

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

and

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

before turning to oil painting. Among his friends at the Academy were

Bertel Thorvaldsen Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...

, the painter and engraver Heinrich Grosch and Carl Probsthayn. According to Thorvaldsen's records, it was Fritzsch and Grosch who first endorsed him to compete for the Academy's large gold medal. Several times he applied for travel scholarships. Some sources state that he may finally have gone on a journey in 1803 but most likely he never made it abroad. During his student years, Fritzsch made many drawings of street life in Copenhagen, many of which with a satirical edge. He also depicted the fire of

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace (, ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament (), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also ...

in 1794 and the

Copenhagen Fire of 1795 The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 (''Københavns brand 1795'') started on Friday, 5 June 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. As t ...

. Some of his gouaches from the fires were made into engraving by Gerhard Ludvig Lahde with whom he collaborated on a regular basis. However, he chose to specialize in flower painting, a discipline which he dedicated the rest of his career to, and was in 1804 referred to as "the best and only painter within his field". He was accepted as a member of the Academy in 1806 and was afforded residency at Charlottenborg in 1827.

Works

His paintings were popular both with Frederik VI and

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 ...

and several of his works now in the Danish National Gallery must, due to their size, originally have served as room decoration. Seven semi-circular door pieces with flower motifs in Holstein's Mansion in Copenhagen are also attributed to him. They were executed in connection with

Jørgen Hansen Koch Jørgen Hansen Koch (4 September 1787 – 30 January 1860) was a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical Denmark, Danish architect. He was chief of the national Danish building administration from 1835 and director of the Royal Danish Academy ...

's redesign of the building for the King in the late 1820s. It was supposed to serve as a residence for Princess Caroline, who was a pupil and admirer of Fritzsch, and Prince Ferdinand after their marriage. As the teacher of

Johannes Ludvig Camradt Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, '' Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Ye ...

, Fritzsch influenced later and more famous Danish flower painters.

Gallery

File:Cladius Detlev Fritzsch - Opstilling med meloner, ferskner, druer og kirsebær - 1819.png, ''Melons, Peaches, Grapes, and Cherries'', 1819 File:C.D. Fritzsch - En let rørkurv med blomster - KMS272 - Statens Museum for Kunst.jpg, ''A Light Pipe Basket with Flowers'', 1808 File:Claudius (Claus) (C. D.) Fritzsch - Flower Piece - NG.M.00087 - National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.jpg, ''Flower Piece'', 1812

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritzsch, Claus Ditlev 18th-century Danish painters 18th-century Danish male artists Danish male painters 19th-century Danish painters 1765 births 1841 deaths Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish male artists Danish flower artists

Biography

Works

Gallery

See also

References