Constantin Hansen | |
|---|---|
 Constantin Hansen Illustreret Tidende, 4. april 1880 | |
| Born | (1804-11-03)3 November 1804 Rome, Papal States |
| Died | 29 March 1880(1880-03-29) (aged 75) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Education | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts |
| Known for | Painting |
| Notable work | A Group of Danish Artists in Rome (1837) The Danish Constituent Assembly (1861-1865) |
| Movement | Danish Golden Age,Romanticism |
Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with theGolden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature andmythology, and inspired by art historianNiels Laurits Høyen, he tried to recreate a nationalhistorical painting based onNorse mythology. He painted also manyaltarpieces andportraits, including the monumental oil paintingThe Danish Constituent Assembly (Den grundlovgivende Rigsforsamling) between 1861 and 1865.[1]
He was born inRome, the son of portrait painterHans Hansen. The family soon relocated toVienna, whereConstanze Mozart, the widow ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, became godmother at his christening and he was named after her. Within his first year, the family moved toCopenhagen, where he was raised.[2][3]
He entered the architecture school of theRoyal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) at 12 years of age, but changed his course of study to painting at the age of 21. He began his training underChristoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg in 1828. He lost both his parents at about this time totyphus, and became the sole supporter of his younger sisters. He took over several commissions that had belonged to his father, including some copies to the Portrait Collection atFrederiksborg Palace and decorative paintings toChristiansborg Palace.
In 1835 he received a two-year stipend to travel abroad, which was followed up by an additional year's stipend. His travels took him through Berlin,Dresden,Prague,Nuremberg andMunich on his way toItaly, where he travelled extensively and stayed longer periods in Rome,Naples andPompeii. In Italy he met fellow Dane, the sculptorBertel Thorvaldsen. He travelled with other Danish artists, includingJørgen Roed,Christen Købke and decorative painterGeorg Hilker (1807–1875).[4]
The Copenhagen Art Union (Kunstforening) commissioned a painting from Hansen in 1837. He provided them withA Group of Danish Artists in Rome, (Et Selskab af danske Kunstnere i Rom). In addition he painted Italian folk scenes, and studies of Roman antiquities and architecture that reflect Eckersberg's spirit.
After eight years in Italy he finally returned to Denmark, staying briefly in Munich, where he studied the technique offresco painting, in anticipation of a commission, along with Georg Hilker, to decorate theUniversity of Copenhagen's vestibule on Frue Plads. This work continued from 1844 until 1853. Hansen painted the mythological figures, while Hilker painted the decorations and frameworks.
He married Magdalene Barbara Købke in 1846, and they had thirteen children. However, four children died within one year after being born and one of their sons, Hans Christian, was killed at the age of nineteen, when he fell overboard from the mast of the sailing ship on which he was a sailor.
In 1854 he was named professor at the Academy, but first became member of the Academy in 1864. One of his daughters,Elise Konstantin-Hansen, (1858–1946) became a recognized painter, and anotherKristiane Konstantin-Hansen (1848–1925), became atapestry weaver.[5][6]
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