1783 -1853 · Rome, Copenhagen and founding of the Danish Golden Age

Exact perspective, open-air light, sober portraits and ships studied even in their maneuvers make Eckersberg the great reformer of Danish painting.

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was born in 1783 in Blåkrog, Schleswig, and grew up near the Als Fjord. Son of an artisan who was also a boat builder, he early developed an interest in the sea and technical precision. After local apprenticeships, he joined Copenhagen in 1803 and studied at the Royal Academy with Nicolai Abildgaard. Winner of the great gold medal, he traveled to Paris from 1810 to 1813 and worked in the studio of Jacques-Louis David. Winner of the great gold medal, he traveled to Paris from 1810 to 1813 and worked in the studio of Jacques-Louis David. He learned the clear construction of the figure and the discipline of the history painting. In Rome, between 1813 and 1816, his art changed profoundly. There he learned the clear construction of the figure and the discipline of the history painting. In Rome, between 1813 and 1816, his art changed profoundly. Supported by Bertel Thorvaldsen, he painted directly in front of the motif, observed architecture in exact light and composes urban views stripped of picturesqueness. Returning to Copenhagen, he became a professor at the Academy in 1818 and held this position for thirty-five years. Almost all the great painters of the Danish Golden Age went through his teaching. Eckersberg imposed outdoor study, rational perspective and concrete observation. He also renewed work from a model, notably by introducing sessions with a female model. His nudes combine anatomy, geometry and luminous simplicity. He also renewed work from a model, notably by introducing sessions with a female model. His nudes combine anatomy, geometry and luminous simplicity. He also renewed work from a model, notably by introducing sessions with a female model. His nudes combine anatomy, geometry and luminous simplicity. His portraits, like those of Thorvaldsen or the Nathanson family, avoided romantic agitation in favor of a measured presence. HAS from the 1820s, the navy became a major subject. He embarked, noted the weather, the wind and the position of the sails, then constructed his paintings with navigator's precision. The Port of Dragør and the Danish sloops combine technical knowledge and formal balance. He also published treatises on perspective which systematized his teaching. Rigor never excludes poetry: at home, a Roman wall, a seated body or a white sail becomes more intense because each report is exactly weighed. Eckersberg died of cholera in 1853. His legacy is immense: he gave Danish painting a modern method based on the visible, without confusing observation and mechanical copy. The "Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg" selection notably compares The Nathanson Family and Portrait of Bertel Thorvaldsen. His reading favors atmosphere.

Eckersberg makes precision a form of freedom: measuring space allows light, the body and the ship to fully exist.