Johan Didrik Frisch (4 May 1835 – 22 November 1867) was a Danish landscape and animal painter.

Biography

Didrik Frisch was born on a farm near

Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Ka ...

, Denmark. His father was a landowner. He began his education at the

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish: ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated by ...

; a private boarding school. While there, perhaps inspired by

Frederik Vermehren Johan Frederik (Frits) Nikolai Vermehren, also known as Frederik Vermehren (12 May 1823 – 10 January 1910), a genre and portrait painter in the realist style. His artistic career took place during the period of Danish art known as the Golden ...

, who was a family friend, he started doing sketches. These drew the attention of the landscape painter Hans Harder, who was sufficiently impressed that he helped him to begin his career as an artist. After some time at 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 ...

, he went to Paris in 1857 to continue his studies. While there, he began to show his paintings. Originally, he depicted figures, but soon turned to landscapes, then combined the two. By 1866, however, he had decided to devote himself to animal painting and spent a great deal of time painting en

plein aire ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

at the

Jægersborg Dyrehave Dyrehaven (Danish language, Danish "The Deer Park"), officially Jægersborg Dyrehave, is a forest park north of Copenhagen in the municipality of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, Lyngby-Taarbæk. To the north it borders Jægersborgs Hegn, which ...

(Deer Park). The following year, he received a scholarship from the Academy to study in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He briefly visited Rome, then went to Florence, where he took up with his fellow Danish painters,

Otto Bache Otto Bache (21 August 1839 – 28 June 1927) was a Danish Realist painter. Many of his works depict key events in Danish history. Biography At age eleven he received a dispensation and was admitted into the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, ...

and

L.A. Schou Ludvig Abelin Schou, known as L.A. Schou (11 January 1838, in Slagelse – 30 September 1867, in Florence), was a Danish Romantic painter, the older brother of Peter Alfred Schou. Biography He was born to a family of merchants. When he was six, ...

. During a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic later that year, he and Schou were both infected and died in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

within days of each other.

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Frisch.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frisch, Didrik 1835 births 1867 deaths People from Slagelse Danish landscape painters Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Danish painters of animals 19th-century Danish male artists People educated at Sorø Academy