Frédérik Rohde (1816-1886) Beech Trees In The Park Of Fredensborg Castle Trees Danmark

Frédérik ROHDE
(Copenhagen, 1816 - Copenhagen, 1886)
Beeches in the grounds of Fredensborg Castle
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
H. 39 cm; L. 28 cm
Located, dated and signed on a label on the stretcher - July 1880

Frédérik Rohde trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen between 1830 and 1834, with the history painter Lund and the landscape painters Kobke and Buentzen. He himself will specialize in landscape, continuing the spirit of the Golden Age of Danish painting. It was in Germany that he made his first trip in 1842, being based in Munich until 1847. During this stay he traveled to Switzerland and Italy and thus painted sites of the great Italian lakes, mainly Como and Guard. Alongside many snow landscapes, the bulk of his work consists of views of Italy, where he will regularly visit until the end of his life. Dated works thus tell us that it was on Lake Como at least in 1846, 1860 and 1862. In particular, a drawing kept in the Charterhouse of San Martino museum, and another passed on the market of art confirm his presence in Bellagio in June and July 1860.

In this month of July 1880, Rohde walks through the park of the royal castle of Fredensborg. He represents here two imposing beeches whose silvery trunks stand out from the greenery. In the background, a wooden barrier gives perspective to the composition which opens onto a luminous sky. Finally, it should be noted that Rohde was present at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1855, and counted among his students Vilhelm Hammershoi.