Magnus von Wright (13 June 1805 – 5 July 1868) was a Swedish-Finnish painter and educator. In addition to bird illustrations, he was also known for his landscapes. He was one of the four sibling

von Wright The von Wright family () is a Swedish and Finnish nobility, Finnish noble family founded by the Scotsman George Wright, who emigrated from Dundee to Narva in Estonia under Swedish rule, Swedish-ruled Estonia, in the mid-17th century, Wright's grands ...

artists.

Biography

Magnus von Wright was born at the village of Haminalahti in

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

, Finland. His ancestors included Scottish merchants who had settled in

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

during the 17th-Century. His father Henrik Magnus von Wright was a retired Major who owned the family estate, Haminalahden. He was the eldest in a family of nine surviving children. His brothers

Wilhelm von Wright Wilhelm von Wright (5 April 1810 – 2 July 1887) was a Swedish-Finnish painter and amateur naturalist. Biography Wilhelm von Wright was born at the village of Haminalahti in Kuopio, Finland. His ancestors included Scottish merchants who h ...

(1810– 1887) and

Ferdinand von Wright Ferdinand von Wright (19 March 1822, Haminalahti, near Kuopio - 31 July 1906, Kuopio) was a Finnish painter (belonging to Swedish-speaking population of Finland) - He is best known for his landscapes and animal paintings, especially his detailed d ...

(1822-1906) also became artists. He attended high school in Turku Gymnasium from 1823–25. It was there that he first developed his interest in birds and, although not a university student, was able to join the scientific society ''Societas pro Fauna and Flora Fennica'' organized by

Carl Reinhold Sahlberg Carl Reinhold Sahlberg (January 22, 1779, Eura – October 18, 1860, Yläne) was a Finland, Finnish natural history, naturalist, primarily an Entomology, entomologist specializing in beetles. He was the father of entomologist Reinhold Ferdinand S ...

(1779-1860). From 1823 to 1825, he attended the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts (), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other fine arts, it is one of seve ...

in Stockholm and studied privately with

Carl Johan Fahlcrantz Carl Johan Fahlcrantz (29 November 1774 – 29 November 1861) was a Swedish painter. Biography He was born in the Stora Tuna Parish of Dalarna, Sweden. He was the son of Johan Fahlcrantz and Gustafva De Brenner. His father was a vicar in Kung ...

(1774-1861). He was also permitted to study the ornithological collection at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

.Helena Hätöne
"Magnus von Wright"
Lähteillä His first professional work came when he was asked to provide illustrations for ''Otava eli suomalaisia huvituksia'' (Stockholm: C. A. Gottlund. 1828), a three-volume compendium of Finnish culture and history, prepared and published by Carl Axel Gottlund (1779–1860). After completing his work on ''Otava'', he was employed by Swedish ornithologist Nils Bonde. Assisted by his brother Wilhelm, he provided illustrations for the multi-volume ''Svenska Fåglar'' (Stockholm: C. von Scheele. 1828). Upon his return to Finland, he worked as a

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

for the land survey office. From 1845 to 1849, he was a

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...

at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

's Zoological Museum, working with

Evert Julius Bonsdorff Evert Julius Bonsdorff (24 September 1810 – 30 July 1898) was a Finnish physician and professor of anatomy and physiology who worked on comparative anatomy. He also described many species of insects from Finland. Life and work Bonsdorff was b ...

, and taught drawing at the University from 1849 to 1868. In 1857, he made a study trip to

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 ...

, where he created a series of

still-life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or human-made (drinking glasses, books, ...

s. Two years later, he published his own work on Finnish birds. He also spent many years helping to reconstruct the botanical and zoological collections that had been destroyed in the

Great Fire of Turku The Great Fire of Turku (; ; ) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had faced several large fires before, including an especially devast ...

. His paintings of Helsinki and its environs are considered to be of great historical value. In 1846, he was elected to the board of directors of the Finnish Art Association and held this position until his death in 1868 at Helsinki.

Gallery

Magnus von Wright - Strandlandskap från Lövö.jpg, ''Beach Landscape from Lövö'' Magnus von Wright - Honkolan kartano Urjalassa - A I 32 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg, ''Honkola Manor in

Urjala Urjala (; , also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, near the town of Forssa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population density (in ...

'' Föreningsbanken.jpg, ''Embankment'' Magnus von Wright, Maisema Punkaharjulta.jpg, ''Landscape from

Punkaharju Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region In geography, regions, otherwise ...

References

External links

More paintings and drawings by Magnus von Wright
@ the Kansallis Galleria
"Cultural Path in the Landscape of the Von Wright Brothers"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Magnus Von Finnish ornithologists 1805 births 1868 deaths People from Kuopio Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish people of Scottish descent Swedish-speaking Finns Swedish bird artists Swedish landscape painters Finnish landscape painters 19th-century Finnish painters Academic staff of the University of Helsinki Finnish male painters 19th-century Finnish male artists Düsseldorf school of painting

Biography

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links