Herman Siegumfeldt
Herman Carl Siegumfeldt (18 September 1833 - 27 June 1912) was a Danish genre and landscape painter. [1]
Biography
Siegumfeldt was born at Haregabsgaarden in the parish of Esbønderup in North Zealand, Denmark. He was the son of Heinrich Anton Siegumfeldt and Maren Cathrine Schou.[2]
At the age of eleven, he was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Later, he studied with Niels Simonsen (1807–1885) while taking practical courses in handicrafts.[3] He won a small silver medal at the age of seventeen, but his financial situation was precarious, so he had to devote himself to crafts rather than continue his art studies. [4][5]
By the winter of 1854-55, he had saved enough to give all his time to painting and was able to make a sale to the Kunstforeningen. The following year, they acquired several more works. His simple, naturally composed works soon attracted a large audience. From 1857 to 1860, he concentrated on painting landscapes.[3]
Before he had quite achieved financial security, he injured his right arm during a trip to Sweden. It took several years to fully recover. Meanwhile, it required a great deal of effort to complete a canvas and he considered the possibility of having to give up painting. In 1863, pleased with one of his works, the Royal Academy granted him a travel allowance to study in Belgium, France and Italy.[6]
While travelling, his right thumb became inflamed and had to be amputated. He returned home and, following a long period of idleness, decided to give up art. The resulting depression led him to enter a mental hospital.[3] He made a speedy recovery and, after three years, once again took up painting. By 1880, he was a member of the Royal Academy's organization committee and had produced some of his best-known portraits. In 1897, he created an altar painting of Paul on the road to Damascus for St. Paul's Church, Aarhus. He died during 1912 in Copenhagen.[7]
References
- "H. Siegumfeldt". Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- "H. Siegumfeldt, genealogy". Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- Biographical notes @ Kunstindeks Danmark.
- "H. Siegumfeldt, education". Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- "Niels Simonsen". RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- Sigurd Müller. "Siegumfeldt, Herman Carl, f. 1833, maler". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
- Jens Peter Munk. "H. Siegumfeldt, biography". Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbach Kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
External links
- ArtNet: More works by Siegumfeldt.
- Herman Siegumfeldt from the Dansk Biografisk Lexikon @ Project Runeberg.