Per Krafft the Younger (1 November 1777 – 12 November 1863) was a Swedish painter of portraits and historical scenes.

Biography

Krafft was born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. He was the son of portraitist

Per Krafft the Elder Per Krafft the Elder (16 January 1724 – 7 November 1793) was a Swedish portraitist. He was the father of the artists Per Krafft the Younger and Wilhelmina Krafft. Early life Per Krafft was born in Arboga, and studied in Uppsala, where from ...

(1724–1793) and Maria Vilhelmina Ekebom (1749–1820) and was the brother of portrait miniaturist Wilhelmina Krafft (1778–1828). While still only a child of six, he began his studies at the

Royal Swedish Academy of Fine 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 ...

(1783–1796). He received his first medal in 1787. He studied there until 1796; notably with

Lorens Pasch the Younger Lorens or Lorenz Pasch the Younger (1733–1805) was a Swedish painter. Life He grew up in an artistic family (he was the brother of Ulrika Pasch, alongside whom he was elected to the Art Academy in 1773), but his father Lorens Pasch the Elder w ...

. At age 18, he was honored with a commission for a portrait of the powerful French politician, Francois-Emmanuel Guignard de Saint-Priest. Shortly after, under the influence of

Louis Masreliez Louis Masreliez (1748 – 19 March 1810), born Adrien Louis Masreliez, was a French-born, Sweden, Swedish Painting, painter and interior designer. Biography Masreliez was born in Paris and came to Sweden at the age of 5 in 1753. He was the son o ...

, he went to Paris, where he became a student of Neoclassical painter

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

. In 1801, for a major Academy exhibition in Stockholm, Krafft sent home three works: ''

Belisarius BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...

'', a smiling Cupid, 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 ...

as a shepherd; all composed in neoclassical style. In 1802 he traveled to Italy, where he drew cityscapes, studied the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

and made copies of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

. In May 1803 he returned from Florence to Paris, where he became a highly sought-after portrait painter. In 1805, he returned to Stockholm, where he had received an appointment as a

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

. In 1808, he was chosen as a Deputy Professor at the Academy and, following the death of

Carl Frederik von Breda Carl Frederik von Breda (16 August 1759 – 1 December 1818) was a Swedish painter who studied in and spent much of his career in Britain before becoming painter to the Swedish court. He was born in Stockholm in 1759, and moved to Britain where ...

in 1818, was promoted to a full Professor of Drawing; a position he held until 1856 During his career, Krafft painted more than 400 portraits, including 60 drawings, and hundreds of other works. In addition, Krafft painted about 100 paintings with biblical, historical and other motifs.

Personal life

Krafft married Brita Sofia Robsahm (1784–1854). He died in 1863 in Stockholm.

Gallery

The Artist's Sister Wilhelmina (Per Krafft d.y.) - Nationalmuseum - 19304.tif, ''Portrait of the Artist's Sister Wilhelmina'' (1806) Per Krafft dy - Elisabeth Hjorth.jpg, ''Portrait of Christina Hjorth'' Carolina Mandorff, 1799-1874, gift Wester, som barn (Per Krafft d.y.) - Nationalmuseum - 117887.tif, ''Portrait of Carolina Mandorff'' (1806) Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.jpg, ''Portrait of

Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1792 until he Coup of 1809, was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Fin ...

'' (1809) Karl August, 1768-1810, Duke of Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Crown Prince of Sweden - Nationalmuseum - 39744.tif, ''Portrait of

Charles August, Crown Prince of Sweden Charles August or Carl August (9 July 1768 – 28 May 1810) was a Danish prince. He is best known for serving as Crown Prince of Sweden briefly in 1810, adopted by Charles XIII, before his sudden death from a stroke. Earlier, he had been a gen ...

'' (1809)

References

External links

Per Krafft the Younger - Artworks @ The Athenaeum More works by Krafft
@ ArtNet 1777 births 1863 deaths 19th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters Swedish portrait painters 19th-century Swedish male artists Painters from Stockholm {{Sweden-painter-stub