Huneus, Andreas Herman

Andreas Huneus was born on December 8, 1814 in Colling, in the family of a lieutenant, and later captain of the city police ( dates. Borgervæbningen ) Andreas Herman Huneus ( dates. Andreas Herman H. ) and his wife Jana Petrina Woydemann ( dates. Jana Petrina Woydemann ). Huneus was deaf, probably from birth, at least from the second year of birth and, as a result, he did not develop speech. In 1823, he was assigned to the Royal Institute for the Deaf and Dumb ( D. Døvstummeinstituttet ), where he studied tailor craft until his confirmation in 1830. Young Andreas showed his talent for drawing early and his father sent him to study painting. In 1831, Huneus became a student at the Danish Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen , where he studied in the class of J.L. Lund , a famous artist of historical painting. In 1833 he made his debut at the spring exhibition in Charlottenborg . In 1841 he became the owner of a small silver medal. In May 1847, Huneus married Thora Johanne Cathrine Garbrecht ( date Thora Johanne Cathrine Garbrecht ) (01.24.1824 - (?) 01.1866), the daughter of a merchant, later wholesaler, Lieutenant Johan Gerhard Frederick Garbrecht and his wife Katrina Krestrina Krestina Lrestina . Focusing on portraiture, Huneus gained fame and became a popular portrait painter. In 1857, his candidacy was previously agreed to be a member of the Academy, but due to the fact that the Academy’s statute was undergoing changes at that moment, he was not elected a member of the Academy ^{[5] [6]} .

At the beginning of 1866, his wife Thor died. Huneus was greatly shocked by her death, and he died after her after more than three months - May 15, 1866 ^[5] .

At the beginning of his work, Andreas Huneus painted landscapes. These were the motives of the environs of Copenhagen and Colling. However, the main focus of his work was genre and especially portraiture. It was as a portrait painter that he became known in his mature work. The descendants assigned Huneus a place among little-known artists of the Golden Age, but he was one of the most sought-after and popular portrait painters of his time with a fairly wide clientele. Among his clients were ordinary townspeople, artisans, entrepreneurs, and even members of the royal family. His popularity was mainly explained by the artist’s pronounced ability to deliver the desired portrait, which best combines the pleasant perception and personality of the portrait. The well-captured characters' characters were also the main element in his famous painting “On the Copenhagen Wall on the Eve of Great Prayer Day” (dates “På Københavns Vold aftenen før Store Bededag”). And although the genre painting of Huneus is not a great originality, this picture aroused the greatest interest among his works. The picture depicts the famous and unknown Copenhageners in an anecdotal and very free dramatization. The picture resembles the genre scenes of funny peasant life from the paintings of Christian Schleisner and Julius Exner , but it lacks composition and coherence between figures and space. Huneus also performed a series of paintings with religious motifs, including several altars testifying to the influence of religious painting by academic professor J. L. Lund on his work, while his portraits were executed in a realistic manner, in which C.V.'s school is traced . Eckersberg ^[5] .

“On the Wall of Copenhagen on the Eve of Great Prayer Day”

For the first time this painting was exhibited at the spring exhibition in Charlottenborg in 1862. This picture depicts the scene of the boardwalk along the Copenhagen shaft on the eve of the Great Day of Prayer . Back in 1686, the King of Denmark Christian V issued a decree according to which all local scattered Roman Catholic holidays were combined into one single big holiday, which was called "Great Day of Prayer" (dates Store Bededag ). This Day fell on the fourth Friday after Easter . According to the established tradition, which dates back to around the middle of the 18th century, on the eve of the Holiday, in the evening, city dwellers left their elegant homes to show themselves and to look at others. They marched along the city ramparts. At the same hour, bells began to ring in the churches, announcing the approach of the Great Day of Prayer. After the ringing of the bells, all worldly pleasures and all alcoholic drinks were forbidden so that people could spiritually prepare for prayer in the church. In this picture, among other characters, the famous personalities of Copenhagen are depicted. Huneus assigned them a variety of roles in his picture, and some of them were even scandalous.

Famous Persons

In the foreground on the right we see two gentlemen in hats. In a black hat is a wholesaler, commercial agent V.O. Funder, and next to him in a light hat is a writer Meir Aron Goldschmidt, a former editor of Corsair magazine. They meet Madame Richter, the hostess of the house in which Huneus lived, she is in company with a commercial agent M. Y. Phillipson. Notable details regarding the last pair. The picture shows how Mrs. Richter and Mr. Phillipson are having an intimate conversation. Mrs. Richter lifts her skirt with her right hand so that a crinoline is visible from underneath. The scene with the dog is also noteworthy. The dog is traditionally considered a symbol of fidelity. But here we see a runaway tearing along with a leash, running in front of this couple. This leads to certain thoughts regarding Richter and Phillipson. It was this scene after the death of the artist caused a scandal.

In the background, a man in a cap leans on a tree. This is the chairman of the guild of bakers, and he rests with others on the eve of the Holiday. Satire with a baker is as follows. Since the middle of the XIX century, but, perhaps, earlier, it was a custom to eat wheat pastries on the Great Day of Prayer. But since bakers, like all other townspeople, were supposed to be in church on this day in the morning and pray, they should not go to work. Cooking baked goods was started on the eve of the holiday, and people had to stock up on it in advance in order to warm it up and use it the next day. But the point of the custom was to use freshly baked, still crispy baked goods. Here the artist exposes the baker, hinting that he will prefer work to prayer and will be busy with his usual business in the morning ^{[7] [8]} .

But not all famous characters were touched by the satyr Huneus. In the background, near the right tree, we see a man in a high black hat and with a cane, held to his chin. This is the poet Christian Winter. The artist portrayed him in a romantic way. Winter was a lyric poet and gallant in dealing with ladies. He had a sensitive heart and soft tongue of poetry. In this picture, Huneus portrayed Winter in company with his wife Julia.

On the left side of the picture in the background, an elderly couple is visible between the figures. This is Prince Ferdinand with Princess Carolina . Prince Ferdinand was the successor to the throne since 1848 after his nephew, King Frederick VII , and he could become king if he lived five months longer and survived Frederick. His cousin and wife, Princess Carolina, was the daughter of Frederick VI , she was very tolerant of her husband's addiction to women and card games (Ferdinand lost 400,000 rigsdealers ). The prince and princess were respected by the people. The noble couple assisted in the hospitalization of patients during the cholera epidemic in 1853, while remaining in Copenhagen, and did not flee the city, as the rest of the honest company did. Huneus portrayed them respectably - Prince Ferdinand in uniform and salutes by putting his right hand to the headdress ^[8] .

The artist also portrayed himself and his family here. The boy in the center is the son of Huneus. On the right side of the picture in the background is Huneus himself - he is wearing a black high hat, and in the foreground is his daughter and her nanny, they are dressed in regional costumes by Hedeboegnen (dates. Hedeboegnen ) ^[8] .

Scandal

At the exhibition in Charlottenborg in 1862, the picture did not cause any particular commotion in connection with its plot. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there was a narrow circle of people close to art or related to it, and none of them paid attention to some of the details that caused the scandal later. After the death of Huneus in 1866, this painting was acquired by art dealer Julius Cohen. He put it on display at Amagertorv , 21, in the center of Copenhagen. There, the picture was seen by many citizens. A particular passion in the plot of the picture was caused by the recognized Mrs. Richter, walking in company with agent Phillipson. The fact is that Phillipson was known in the city not only for his talent in commercial matters, but also for being a talented seducer of the fair sex. Corresponding rumors quickly spread throughout the city, and reached Mrs. Richter. Later, she recalled how, once meeting an artist on the stairs, he asked her for permission to depict her in his painting. Richter willingly agreed, but at the same time, according to her, there was no agreement that she would be portrayed in company with Phillipson or with anyone else. Given that Huneus was deaf and dumb, it was probably physically difficult for him to ask permission from Madame Richter, and all the more difficult to imagine the possibility of discussing detailed details with him. It should be noted that the deaf-mute Huneus could not hear anything and did not know about the piquant details of Phillipson's life. Mrs. Richter bought this painting from Cohen for a price four times higher than the purchase price, only to hide it from new prying eyes. For several years, the picture was hidden, but since 1874 it was allowed to hang in a family house. At the request of Mrs. Richter, the family donated the painting to the National Museum of Art. Today it can be seen in the Copenhagen Museum ^[8] .

Princess Dagmar Portrait

This picture was Huneus' last major work. It was completed in 1866 shortly before Princess Dagmar moved to Russia to become Empress of Russia under the name of Maria Fedorovna, and shortly before the death of Huneus, who died after losing his beloved wife at the beginning of that year. During posing for the artist, Dagmar learned the sign language and Huneus sign language. She showed interest in the problem of the deaf-mute. Later, in Russia, she patronized art, in particular, painting, and headed the Departments of Institutions of the Empress Maria , which, in particular, included a subordinate institution, the St. Petersburg School of the Deaf . Today this portrait is kept at the Amalienborg Museum in Copenhagen.

Huneus probably did not become a famous artist due to the fact that among his works there were almost no portraits of noble persons, except this one. After completing the portrait of Princess Dagmar, he received other orders from the royal court, but their execution was prevented by the untimely death of the artist ^[9] .

• Works by Andreas Huneus on the Artnet website
• Danish Biographical Encyclopedia / ("Dansk Biografisk Leksikion, p.176")
• Art Index of Denmark ("Art Index Denmark")
• Sightseeing Overview (Byvandring)
• Historical Journal (Dovehistorisk tidsskrift)
• Danish Historical Council (Dansk historik Fællesraad)
• Jullands-Posten " Den store bededagsskandale "