DOI Heft:
No. 248 (November 1913)
DOI Artikel:Bröchner, Georg: The Château of Rosenborg, Copenhagen, and its collections
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21208#0152
The Chateau of Rosenborg
“THE MINIATURIST CHRISTIAN HORSEMAN ”
PAINTED BY HIMSELF
number of portraits, including those of the king
and queen. He worked for the Danish court
for a great many years, also after the death of
Frederick III, painting, amongst others, numerous
portraits of King Christian V. As already men-
tioned, he was sent to England in 1669, from which
visit date the portraits of Charles II and Lady
Castlemaine referred to above. Mr. Lund has
succeeded in raising the veil which shrouded the
origin of Prieur, but space will not allow me to
enter upon this otherwise very interestnig subject.
By Charles Boit, of French extraction, born in
Stockholm and afterwards domiciled in England,
where after diverse adversities he became a much-
thought-of portrayer, the Rosenborg collection
comprises, amongst others, a very handsome
miniature in enamel of Queen Anne of England
(1705), reproduced here; the low-cut robe is of
orange colour with lace trimming, the mantle red
and edged with ermine, the medallion of the Garter
hanging from a blue ribbon. There is also a minia-
ture of Queen Anne in oil on copper at Rosenborg.
Josias Barbette is another French artist (native
of Strasburg) who during a lengthy period was
miniature enamellist to the Danish court; having
lived some forty years in Copenhagen he died
there in the year 1731. Hiller painted a number
of very decorative miniatures of and for King
Frederick IV, several of which are remarkable also
for the elaborateness of their frames.
Also from the reign of the following kings
Rosenborg boasts a large number of miniature
portraits of the kings as well as of the queens of
130
Frederick V and Christian VII (both of whom
were English princesses), but in artistic merit they
hardly vie with those already dealt with, nor has
it in numerous cases been possible to identify with
any certainty the respective artists in question.
By degrees a school of eminent Danish painters,
miniature and otherwise, was formed, and they, in
harmony with the eternal fitness of things, are very
fully represented in the Rosenborg collection.
Amongst these Cornelius Hoyer is perhaps best
known outside Denmark; and his miniatures still
enjoy a great reputation. In the year 1768 Hoyer
returned to Denmark from Paris, and he ranks high
amongst the Danish miniaturists of his day. He was
succeeded as court miniature painter by Christian
Horneman. Horneman left Denmark in the
year 1788 and remained abroad for sixteen years,
principally residing in Germany and Italy. On his
return he became a much-esteemed portrait painter,
and Rosenborg possesses a separate Horneman
collection of forty-seven miniatures. They are partly
painted after works by older artists. His miniature
self-portrait, reproduced here, is from a larger self-
portrait in pastel. The portrait of Thorvaldsen
is likewise painted from a larger pastel portrait (also
by Horneman), whilst the miniatures of King
Charles I of England and Gluck, the composer,
also reproduced here, are respectively from AHn
Dyck’s and Duplessis’s well-known paintings.
The latest of the miniatures chosen for repro-
duction here are the portraits of King Christian VIII
of Denmark and his queen, Caroline Amalie. The
former is painted by Johannes Moller, a well-known
Danish artist and miniature painter to the court.
He had studied in Paris, where he distinguished
himself and painted King Louis Philippe, and he
also worked in other capitals, including London,
St. Petersburg and Stockholm. The charming
portrait of Queen Caroline Amalie, according to
an autograph note on the back, was painted at
Plombieres in 1821 by a lady artist, M. M. F. Jaser.
By the death of Prince Hans of Gliicksburg, the
youngest brother of King Christian IX of Denmark,
Rosenborg became possessed of his valuable and
comprehensive collection of miniatures. My space
will but allow of a cursory reference to this recent
addition, which contains numerous eminent ex-
amples of the miniaturist’s art; but I should in con-
clusion like to mention a charming portrait by Jens
Juel of Queen Marie Sophie Frederikke, consort of
King Frederick VI, which possesses all the subtle
grace characteristic of this artist, and another of
Prince Hans of Gliicksburg by Rehling-Qvistgaard,
which is much prized by the Danish Royal Family.
“THE MINIATURIST CHRISTIAN HORSEMAN ”
PAINTED BY HIMSELF
number of portraits, including those of the king
and queen. He worked for the Danish court
for a great many years, also after the death of
Frederick III, painting, amongst others, numerous
portraits of King Christian V. As already men-
tioned, he was sent to England in 1669, from which
visit date the portraits of Charles II and Lady
Castlemaine referred to above. Mr. Lund has
succeeded in raising the veil which shrouded the
origin of Prieur, but space will not allow me to
enter upon this otherwise very interestnig subject.
By Charles Boit, of French extraction, born in
Stockholm and afterwards domiciled in England,
where after diverse adversities he became a much-
thought-of portrayer, the Rosenborg collection
comprises, amongst others, a very handsome
miniature in enamel of Queen Anne of England
(1705), reproduced here; the low-cut robe is of
orange colour with lace trimming, the mantle red
and edged with ermine, the medallion of the Garter
hanging from a blue ribbon. There is also a minia-
ture of Queen Anne in oil on copper at Rosenborg.
Josias Barbette is another French artist (native
of Strasburg) who during a lengthy period was
miniature enamellist to the Danish court; having
lived some forty years in Copenhagen he died
there in the year 1731. Hiller painted a number
of very decorative miniatures of and for King
Frederick IV, several of which are remarkable also
for the elaborateness of their frames.
Also from the reign of the following kings
Rosenborg boasts a large number of miniature
portraits of the kings as well as of the queens of
130
Frederick V and Christian VII (both of whom
were English princesses), but in artistic merit they
hardly vie with those already dealt with, nor has
it in numerous cases been possible to identify with
any certainty the respective artists in question.
By degrees a school of eminent Danish painters,
miniature and otherwise, was formed, and they, in
harmony with the eternal fitness of things, are very
fully represented in the Rosenborg collection.
Amongst these Cornelius Hoyer is perhaps best
known outside Denmark; and his miniatures still
enjoy a great reputation. In the year 1768 Hoyer
returned to Denmark from Paris, and he ranks high
amongst the Danish miniaturists of his day. He was
succeeded as court miniature painter by Christian
Horneman. Horneman left Denmark in the
year 1788 and remained abroad for sixteen years,
principally residing in Germany and Italy. On his
return he became a much-esteemed portrait painter,
and Rosenborg possesses a separate Horneman
collection of forty-seven miniatures. They are partly
painted after works by older artists. His miniature
self-portrait, reproduced here, is from a larger self-
portrait in pastel. The portrait of Thorvaldsen
is likewise painted from a larger pastel portrait (also
by Horneman), whilst the miniatures of King
Charles I of England and Gluck, the composer,
also reproduced here, are respectively from AHn
Dyck’s and Duplessis’s well-known paintings.
The latest of the miniatures chosen for repro-
duction here are the portraits of King Christian VIII
of Denmark and his queen, Caroline Amalie. The
former is painted by Johannes Moller, a well-known
Danish artist and miniature painter to the court.
He had studied in Paris, where he distinguished
himself and painted King Louis Philippe, and he
also worked in other capitals, including London,
St. Petersburg and Stockholm. The charming
portrait of Queen Caroline Amalie, according to
an autograph note on the back, was painted at
Plombieres in 1821 by a lady artist, M. M. F. Jaser.
By the death of Prince Hans of Gliicksburg, the
youngest brother of King Christian IX of Denmark,
Rosenborg became possessed of his valuable and
comprehensive collection of miniatures. My space
will but allow of a cursory reference to this recent
addition, which contains numerous eminent ex-
amples of the miniaturist’s art; but I should in con-
clusion like to mention a charming portrait by Jens
Juel of Queen Marie Sophie Frederikke, consort of
King Frederick VI, which possesses all the subtle
grace characteristic of this artist, and another of
Prince Hans of Gliicksburg by Rehling-Qvistgaard,
which is much prized by the Danish Royal Family.