Jørgen Valentin Sonne (24 June 1801 – 24 September 1890) was a Danish
genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
painter; known primarily for his battle scenes.
Biography
Jørgen Sonne was born at
Birkerød
Birkerød () is a town in Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is surrounded by several lakes and small woodlands. Birkerød station is located on the Nordbanen, Hillerød radial of the S-train suburban networ ...
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968.
Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...
.
His brother Carl Edvard Sonne (1804–1878) was a printmaker.
Sonne originally intended to pursue a military career and enrolled at the Royal Danish Military Academy, but left after a year 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 ...
instead. At the same time, he began to work in the studios of Christian David Gebauer, mostly making copies of the old
Dutch Masters
Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence.
The new Dutch Republi ...
.Biographical notes ''Kunstindeks Danmark''. He also painted some original pictures and had a small showing in 1818.
In 1828, he received a travel stipend from the Academy that allowed him to visit Munich, where he became an apprentice of the history painter,
Peter von Cornelius
Peter von Cornelius (23 September 1783, Düsseldorf – 6 March 1867, Berlin) was a German Painting, painter; one of the main representatives of the Nazarene movement. He was the uncle of the composer Peter Cornelius (1824–1874).
Life
Earl ...
. He stayed there for three years and made several trips into the mountains to do landscapes, which are not among his best works.
When he left Munich, he was able to obtain further support for studies in Rome. While there, he made numerous hunting trips as an excuse to observe the rural peasants and their daily habits. During these trips he made sketches that he would use as inspiration throughout his career.
He returned to Denmark in 1841; producing works based on his Italian studies as well as ones depicting the Danish peasantry. In 1848, following the start of the
First Schleswig War
The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...
, he was given permission to accompany the army to
Southern Jutland
Southern Jutland (; ) is the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called . Both territories had their own ting assemblies in the Mi ...
. Many of the soldiers were impressed by the way he calmly sketched while bullets flew around him. During the
Second Schleswig War
The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...
, despite being sixty-three years old, he was with the army again, at the
Battle of Dybbøl
The Battle of Dybbøl (; ) was the key battle of the Second Schleswig War, fought between Denmark and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia. The battle was fought on the morning of 18 April 1864, following a siege that began on 2 April. Denmark suffered ...
Thorvaldsen Museum
The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish and Icelandic Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The ...
and illustrations for a Danish translation of the Hindu play, ''
Shakuntala
Shakuntala () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play '' Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century AD ...
Dannebrogordenens Hæderstegn
Dannebrogordenens Hæderstegn, also referred to as the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog (post-nominals: D.Ht.), is a meritous award connected to the Danish Order of the Dannebrog. The cross was instituted by King Frederick VI of Den ...
in 1881.
During his last decade, he began having eye problems and became too weak to paint for long periods. To the end, his artistic outlook was conservative; believing that the latest trends were simply a way to hide lack of content. He never married.