Erik Pauelsen (2 or 14 October 1749 – 20 February 1790) was a Danish painter. He is most notable for his landscapes and was also a popular portraitist. However, he did not experience the same level of success as Jens Juel and

Nicolai Abildgaard Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhage ...

, his contemporaries, and in 1790 he committed suicide.

Biography

Erik Pauelsen was born in Østerballe Parish in

Himmerland Himmerland is a peninsula in northeastern Jutland, Denmark. It is delimited to the north and the west by the Limfjord, to the east by the Kattegat, and to the south by the Mariager Fjord. The largest city is Aalborg; smaller towns include Hobro, ...

some time between 2 and 14 October 1749. From an early age he had his mind set on becoming an artist. He travelled 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 studied 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 ...

from 1770 to 1777 where he won the large silver medal and the small gold medal in 1775 and finally the large gold medal in 1777 together with the Academy's travel scholarship. He travelled to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

by way of

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 ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

and

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 ...

and visited

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on his way back. During his travels he became a member of several foreign art academies and was granted the title of professor in Düsseldorf. After his return to Denmark, he became a member of the art academy but was passed over for the post of professor by Jens Juel in 1784 and then again for the position of painter to the royal court by

Vigilius Eriksen Vigilius Eriksen (2 September 1722 in Copenhagen – 25 May 1782 in Rungstedgård) was a Danish painter. He was the royal portraitist to Christian VI of Denmark. Biography He initially studied under Johann Salomon Wahl. In 1755 he was awa ...

. For Pauelsen this could only be explained as a result of intrigue, and he became more and more embittered. He remained a popular portraitist and also enjoyed success as a landscape painter. From 1785 to 1786 he decorated a room in Frédéric de Coninck's mansion on

Bredgade Bredgade (literal translation, lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden, Copenhagen, Esplanaden ...

, now known as

Moltke's Mansion The Moltke's Mansion is a town mansion on the corner of Bredgade and Dronningens Tværgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of several town mansions in Frederiksstaden, although it actually predates the neighbourhood by half a century. It was bui ...

after a later owner. The decorations, murals and

overdoor An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...

s, presented scenes from the environs of Dronningegård, de Coninck's country house north of Copenhagen. In 1788 he travelled to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and brought back a series of landscape paintings which were acquired by the royal painting collections. However, he suffered from his feeling belittled and defeated by his peers and in 1790 he committed suicide by jumping out of a window in his home. Pauelsen is most notable for his landscapes. He visited Norway and painted ''

Sarpsfossen Sarp Falls ( or ') is a waterfall at Sarpsborg in Østfold, Norway. It is the second largest waterfall in Europe by Discharge (hydrology) , discharge, after the Rhine Falls. This is the last waterfall on the Glomma River, which is the longest rive ...

'' (1789), now in the Danish National Gallery.

Works

Among those whose portraits he painted were

Johannes Ewald Johannes Ewald (18 November 174317 March 1781) was a Danish national dramatist, psalm writer and poet. The lyrics of a song from one of his plays are used for one of the Danish national anthems, ''Kong Christian stod ved højen mast'' whic ...

(c. 1780, Frederiksborg Museum),

Søren Gyldendal Søren Gyldendal (12 April 1742 – 8 February 1802) was a Denmark, Danish bookstore owner who founded Gyldendal (Denmark), Gyldendal which became Denmark's largest publishing house. Biography Søren Jensen Gyldendal was born at Aars in Vesthi ...

and his wife (1780), and

Friederike Brun Friederike Brun, née ''Münther'' (3 June 1765 – 25 March 1835), was a Danish author and salonist. She was married to the affluent merchant Constantin Brun and during the Danish Golden Age of the first half of the 19th century she arranged l ...

with her daughter Ida Brun (1789). Image:Frederiksborg 1786 by Erik Pauelsen.jpg,

Frederiksborg Castle Frederiksborg Castle () is a palatial complex in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for Christian IV of Denmark, King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway in the early 17th century, replacing an older castle acquired by Frederick II ...

(1786) Image:Erik Pauelsen - Port of Copenhagen 1888.jpg, Port of Copenhagen viewed from

Nordre Toldbod Nordre Toldbod is a waterfront area in Copenhagen, Denmark, located at the north end of Larsens Plads and just south of Kastellet. It takes its name after the custom house or ''toldbod'' which used to be located in the area. Most of the histori ...

(1788) Image:Dronninggård (Erik Pauelsen).jpg,

Dronninggård Næsseslottet is an 18th-century country house located on the shores of lake Furesøen at Holte north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The name, which translates as "Peninsula House", is a reference to the buildings setting on a narrow peninsula which e ...

Image:Erik Pauelsen - Frieren - KMS1146 - Statens Museum for Kunst.jpg, Frieren (1784)

References

External links

Erik Pauelsen
at

Kunstindeks Danmark ''Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon'' (English: ''Weilbach's Biographical Dictionary of Artists'') is a Danish biographical dictionary of artists and architects. The current edition, which is also freely accessible online, contains the biographies of some ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pauelsen, Erik Danish painters 1749 births 1790 deaths Suicides by jumping in Denmark Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Artists who died by suicide