Fine pastel portrait of the composer by Copmann after the 1828 pastel portrait by Christian Horneman (1765-1844). Signed with the artist's initials "PC" and dated 1832
51 x 42 cms. (20 x 16.5"). Canvas over wooden board.
A sensitive portrait of the composer, blind in his right eye since childhood, depicted head-and-shoulders, turned right, wearing a blue coat and white-collared shirt.
Some minor wear and smudging but in very good condition overall.
"Together with C.E.F. Weyse he was the foremost representative of the late Classical and early Romantic periods in Denmark. ... Unlike Weyse, the other principal Danish composer of the period, Kuhlau was extrovert and modern. His style contains many elements of the Danish musical tradition but is mainly cosmopolitan. A conspicuous feature is his parody technique, in which themes, passages and sometimes whole movements by other composers function as a catalyst for his own compositions. However, Kuhlau has his own distinctive artistic character, and his best works – the piano, flute and chamber music and the dramatic works, including several masterly overtures – exerted a profound influence on Danish music during the rest of the 19th century." Gorm Busk in Grove Music Online
Hornemann, a Danish painter of pastels and miniatures, was known mainly for his portraits. He was the father of Johan Ole Emil Hornemann (1809-1870) and grandfather of C.F.E. Hornemann (1840-1906), both composers.
Of Danish origin, Copmann worked in Copenhagen and as an itinerant portrait and landscape painter in Hamburg and Dresden, Germany. He immigrated to the U.S. in ca. 1834 and was active in Brooklyn, New York (1834); Charleston, South Carolina (1834-35); in New Orleans (1837); and in Louisville, KY (1848). Rutledge: Artists in the Life of Charleston, 154, 177. Encyclopaedia of New Orleans Artists, 86. Artprice.com
A highly attractive portrait of this important Danish composer by a Danish-born artist working in the U.S. in the first part of the nineteenth century.
Item #39401
Price: $2,200.00 other currencies