Upsala

Title

Upsala

Description

Uppsala Cathedral (Swedish: Uppsala domkyrka).

ca. 1850

Artist

Baerentzen (1799-1868)

Emilius Ditlev Bærentzen (1799- 1868), usually known as Emil Bærentzen, was a Danish painter and lithographer, active during the Golden Age of Danish painting. Born in Copenhagen in 1799, Bærentzen served an apprenticeship in the pharmacy in Nyköbing Sjælland but then traveled to Christiansted on the then Danish island of St. Croix in the West Indies where he worked in one of the government offices. Five years later he returned to Denmark and after qualifying as a lawyer, moved to the up to paint, then he had practiced as a hobby. In 1821 he entered the Academy of Arts he studied under Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. He received the small silver medal in 1826 and the large silver medal the following year. He soon became one of Copenhagen's most popular portrait painters. His paintings were characterized by an elegant but simple style, free of psychological trimmings in keeping with contemporary practice. One of his most successful works is the portrait of Sören Kierkegaard's fiancée Regine Olsen (1840). In 1837 he began to specialize in lithography with H.L. Danschell, which led his late father-in-Law oilcloth factory where stones were used to dye the fabric. This led to the establishment of a lithographic company, Emilius Bärentzen & Co.s Litografiske Institut, which later Hoffensberg, Jespersen & Fr. Trap. Bærentzen made lithographs of many of the most important personalities of the time. He worked both as a lithographer and artist until 1866 when he painted the portrait of Cosmus Bræstrup for the Masonic Lodge in Elsinore.

Historical Description

Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. he city is the site of the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477, and is where Carl Linnaeus, one of the renowned scholars of Uppsala University, lived for many years; both his house and garden can still be visited. Uppsala is also the site of the 16th century Uppsala Castle. The city was severely damaged by a fire in 1702. Historical and cultural treasures were also lost, as in many Swedish cities, from demolitions during the 1960s and 1970s, but many historic buildings remain, especially in the western part of the city. The arms bearing the lion can be traced to 1737 and have been modernised several times, most recently in 1986. The meaning of the lion is uncertain but is likely connected to the royal lion, also depicted on the Coat of Arms of Sweden.