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A View through Three Arches of the Third Storey of the Colosseum

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg1815

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
Copenhagen, Denmark

During his years in Rome from 1813 to 1816, C.W. Eckersberg painted a large number of pictures of the city’s ancient ruins, particularly the old amphitheatre the Coliseum. He painted many views from the inside of the building, and here he has taken up position on the third storey, painting the view through three arches there.

A keen eye on the details

He observed the details of the scene with great care, depicting every one of them exactly as he saw them. Nevertheless, the overall view is a construct: the artist used the arches to link up three views that are slightly separate in real life to form an all-new, harmonious whole.

Open-air painting

Eckersberg began his open-air painting, previously unknown within Danish art, while in Rome, completing the painting on site. This gave him the opportunity to observe the scene more directly, and the rendition is characterised by great freshness and immediacy. He undoubtedly used binoculars to be able to faithfully reproduce the details in the background.

Danish Golden Age

With his art firmly anchored in representations of reality, Eckersberg laid down the foundations for the next three or four decades of Danish painting, thus helping to create the Golden Age of Danish art. Eckersberg was appointed professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1818, giving his students the chance to study his Roman scenes at the residence provided for him at Charlottenborg.

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  • Title: A View through Three Arches of the Third Storey of the Colosseum
  • Creator: C.W. Eckersberg
  • Creator Lifespan: 1783 Blåkrog near Aabenraa - 1853 København
  • Creator Nationality: Danish
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: København
  • Creator Birth Place: Blåkrog near Aabenraa
  • Date Created: 1815
  • Værktekst: Under sit ophold i Rom 1813-16 malede C.W. Eckersberg en lang række billeder af byens antikke ruiner, specielt det gamle amfiteater Colosseum. Han valgte flere udsnit af bygningens indre, og fra det tredje stokværk har han malet udsigten gennem tre buer ud over Rom. Ned til den mindste detalje Med stor omhu har han iagttaget alle enkeltheder af motivet. Ned til den mindste detalje har han skildret præcis, hvad han har set. Men selve udsigten er en konstruktion, idet han ved hjælp af buerne har sammenkædet tre lidt adskilte vuer til en samlet komposition. Han har udeladt de tilfældige partier og skabt en ny harmonisk helhed. Malede i det frie Som noget helt nyt i dansk kunst begyndte Eckersberg at male ude i det fri i Rom, og han har fuldført maleriet på stedet foran motivet. Herved fik han mulighed for at iagttage motivet mere direkte, og skildringen er præget af stor friskhed. For at kunne gengive baggrundens detaljer har han uden tvivl benyttet en kikkert. Dansk guldalderkunst Med sin dybe forankring i den sete virkelighed skabte Eckersberg grundlaget for den danske malerkunst i de følgende tre-fire årtier og var dermed med til at skabe guldalderen i dansk kunst. Efter at han i 1818 blev professor ved Kunstakademiet, kunne hans elever studere hans romerske billeder i hans lejlighed på Charlottenborg.
  • Teknik: Olie på lærred
  • Proveniens: Køb 1911
  • Provenance: Acquired 1911
  • Physical Dimensions: w49.5 x h32 cm (Without frame)
  • Featured Place: Roma
  • Dansk link: http://www.smk.dk/index.php?id=1171
  • Dansk Titel: Udsigt gennem tre buer i Colosseums tredje stokværk
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Statens Museum for Kunst, http://www.smk.dk/en/copyright/creative-commons/
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

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