Niels Simonsen (10 December 1807 – 11 December 1885) was a Danish painter, lithographer and sculptor.

Biography

Simonsen was born in

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 ...

, Denmark. He was the son of Simnon Rasmusson and Bolette Nielsdatter. His parents were shopkeepers. At the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to a master decorative painter and began to take drawing lessons 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 ...

. Later, he took private lessons from

Johan Ludwig Lund Johan Ludwig Gebhard Lund (primarily known as J. L. Lund) (16 October 1777 – 3 March 1867) was a Danish painter, born in Kiel, Duchy of Holstein, to master painter Hans Giewert Lund and his wife Maria Magdalena Christina Bremer. An adherent of ...

.Artist: Niels Simonsen
Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon. After a successful showing at the

Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg''). Kunsthal Cha ...

in 1827, he turned to sculpture and received some orders, including one for reliefs in a hall at

Christiansborg Christiansborg Palace (, ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament (), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark. Also, ...

. In 1830, he was awarded a gold medal for his relief of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

healing the sick, which is now displayed at

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv (literal translation, lit. "The King's New Square") is a town square, public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the Pedestrian zone, pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was l ...

public square in

. Although the fees for these commissions were substantial, portrait busts were his primary source of income. His failure to win any more official recognition for his work soon prompted him to turn to painting. He held his first exhibition in 1833, after some very brief training. His painting of a wounded soldier brought him some prize money and was quickly purchased. It was later widely reproduced; notably in an engraving by printmaker Carl Edvard Sonne. By 1834, having failed to reproduce this initial success, he requested a loan from Privy Councilor Nicolai Abraham Holten, who had recently bought an altarpiece Simonsen had been unable to sell after those who ordered it changed their minds. The loan was given and it enabled him to spend two years in Munich, where he came under the influence of the Academy of Fine Arts. He soon found buyers for his work; landowners and businessmen as well as foreign art collectors. By 1837, he was sufficiently well-off to send home for his fiancée, Anne Marie Petersen, and get married. Over the next few years, he traveled to

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, Northern Italy and

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. The resulting works were purchased by the royal families of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

and the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

in Copenhagen. Nils Simonsen Seegefecht 1844

Return to Denmark

In 1842, he became a member of the Munich Academy and was offered a professorship, but chose to take a similar offer from King

Christian VIII Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Fred ...

and returned home; teaching military history painting at the Royal Academy. He also continued with his private career and the works derived from his visit to North Africa were especially popular. From 1848 to 1851, during 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 concentrated on large canvases of military scenes, several of which were acquired for the Royal Collection. After that, he went back to genre scenes, took a trip to Sweden and created a major work, ''Trolovelse i Skaane'' (1862), symbolizing the reconciliation of Denmark and Sweden after years of bitter contention for

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. From 1854 to 1883, he was a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts' Model School. He once again focused on battle painting 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 ...

and became a member of 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 ...

. He made his last major trip abroad (to Rome) with money from which had been founded in 1870 by . In 1852, he was named a Knight in the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. In 1874 he received the

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 1883, he received Det treschowske Legat. Simonsen died in 1885 in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

and was buried at

Solbjerg Park Cemetery Solbjerg Park Cemetery () Is a 19-hectare cemetery in Frederiksberg in the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1865, it is one of three cemeteries in Frederiksberg Municipality Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality ( D ...

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Simonsen.
(mostly his paintings from North Africa)

from the Dansk Biografisk Lexikon @

Project Runeberg Project Runeberg () is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries. Patterned after Project Gutenberg, it was founded by Lars Aronsson and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonsen, Niels Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts 1807 births 1885 deaths 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Danish genre painters Danish history painters Military art Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Painters from Copenhagen Sculptors from Copenhagen 19th-century Danish male artists