Christian August Lorentzen, “Model Class at the Copenhagen Academy of Arts”, Oil on Canvas, 1824

Christian August Lorentzen was born in August of 1749 as the son of a watchmaker. He arrived in Copenhagen around 1771 where he frequented the Royal Academy of Fine Arts; but it is unclear whether he received any formal training. From 1779 to 1782 he went abroad to develop his skills, visiting the Netherlands, Antwerp and Paris where he copied the paintings of the masters. In 1792 Lorentzen traveled to Norway to paint.

In a number of paintings, such as “Slaget på Reden” and “Den Rædsomste Nat”, Lorentzen documented key events from the English Wars between 1801 and 1814. Later in his career he mainly painted portraits, landscapes and scenes from Ludvig Holberg’s comedies. As a professor at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen from 1803 and until his death in 1828, he exercised great influence on the next generation of painters such as Martinus Rørbye among others.