Christian Albrecht Jensen

Christian Albrecht Jensen was born in Bredstedt in Nordfriesland on 26 June 1792. He attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen from 1810 to 1816, where he studied under Christian August Lorentzen. He then traveled to Dresden and Rome, where he joined the colony of Danish-German artists and met Bertel Thorvaldsen. He returned to Copenhagen in 1822 and established himself as a successful portrait painter. He painted more than 400 portraits of the most prominent figures of the Danish Golden Age, such as writers, artists, scientists, politicians and clergymen. He also painted some historical and genre scenes, as well as copies of older paintings for the historical collections at Frederiksborg Castle. He was a founder of Den Frie Udstilling, an alternative exhibition venue for avant-garde artists in Copenhagen, but he also exhibited at the Academy's exhibitions at Charlottenborg. He was criticized by some art historians and critics, such as Niels Lauritz Høyen, who found his style too sketchy and unfinished. He died in Copenhagen on 13 July 1870.