Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann
Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann was a Danish artist with Polish roots. Among other work, she painted several portraits of members of the Danish Royal Family during the 19th century.
Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann was a Danish artist with Polish roots. Among other work, she painted several portraits of members of the Danish Royal Family during the 19th century.
From Poland to Denmark
Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1818, but left the country when she was 19. After some years in Germany, where she attended the art academy in Düsseldorf, she moved to Rome in 1845. Here she met the Danish sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau. They married in 1846 and moved to Denmark three years later. Here they settled in Copenhagen and had nine children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.
An untraditional life for a woman
By pursuing a career as an artist while also being a mother, Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann went against the norms for women during the 19th century. She was not recognised as an artist in Denmark, but in Europe, she had very successful exhibitions and had good sales of her work. In her autobiographical books Ungdomserindringer (Youth Memoirs) (1874) and Brogede Rejsebilleder (Colourful Travel Sketches) (1881), Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann writes about her life as a woman and an artist.
The royal connection
Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann was a personal friend of the Danish Dronning Louise, who was married to Christian IX, and she painted several pictures of the Royal Couple’s children. Today, some of these paintings are on display at the Amalienborg Museum.
