Johan Vilhelm Gertner (10 March 1818 – 28 March 1871) was a
Danish painter, best known for his lifelike portraiture. One of the last students of
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, who was known as the father of the
Golden Age of Danish Painting, Gertner belonged to the tail end of the Golden Age, a period during which Danish art moved towards a more realistic style, relying on inspiration both from
French Realism and emerging
photographic techniques.
Life and career
Gertner was born to a craftsman at the
Holmen Naval Base. He attended the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1831 to 1837 where he was one of the pupils of
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of the
Golden Age of Danish Painting.
Eckersberg taught him a naturalistic approach to painting, but Gertner went much further with inspiration from
French art and the emerging techniques of
photography
Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
.
His virtuosity in producing almost photographically precise portraits impressed many; in particular, his ability to reproduce textures and materials — crisp silk dresses, lustrous medals and jewellery, dark
mahogany furniture, silky wallpapers, and soft carpets — won him much acclaim.
Others, such as the influential art historian and critic
Niels Lauritz Høyen, who opposed any foreign influence on Danish painting, disapproved of his style, preferring more sincere and sensitive portrayals.
[ He was a professor at the Academy from 1858.
]
Works
Gertner painted many of the leading artists of his time, including Bertel Thorvaldsen in ''Thorvaldsen in his studio'' (1839, Thorvaldsens Museum) and ''C.W. Eckersberg'' (1850, Royal Danish Academy). Occasionally he also painted genre works, history painting or architecture pieces.[
]
Selected portraits
File:Jacob Peter Mynster.jpg, Jacob Peter Mynster
File:Thorvaldsen Gertner.JPG, Bertel Thorvaldsen
File:C.C. Hall by J.V. Gertner 1864.jpg, Carl Christian Hall
File:Kong Christian d. 8..jpg, King Christian VIII
Exhibitions
* Nivaagaard Painting Collection, ''Johan Vilhelm Gertner'', 2 September – 18 November 2001[
]
See also
* List of Danish painters
This is a list of Danish painters who were born in or whose creative production is associated with Denmark:
A
* Axel Aabrink (1887–1965)
* Jørgen Aabye (1868–1959)
* Carl Frederik Aagaard (1833–1895)
* Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard (1744 ...
* Art of Denmark
Danish art is the visual arts produced in Denmark or by Danish artists. It goes back thousands of years with significant artifacts from the 2nd millennium BC, such as the Trundholm sun chariot. For many early periods, it is usually considered a ...
References
External links
ArtNet: More works by Gertner.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertner, Johan Vilhelm
1818 births
1871 deaths
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni
19th-century Danish painters
Danish male painters
Painters from Copenhagen
Danish portrait painters
Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal
19th-century Danish male artists