Frederik Vermehren

Johan Frederik (Frits) Nikolai Vermehren, also known as Frederik Vermehren (12 May 1823 – 10 January 1910), a Danish realistic genre and a portrait painter, was born in Ringsted to glazier to Peter Frederik Nikolai Vermehren and his wife Sofie Amalie. His artistic career took place during the period of Danish art known as the Golden Age of Danish Painting and the Skagen Painters. Vermehren, along with his fellow artists,Christen Dalsgaard and Julius Exner, were three big names in the Danish genre of painting as they depicted the ordinary people of the country, especially farmers and other country folk. His idealised depictions helped define and encourage Denmark's national romantic art period.

At a young age, Frederik worked in his father's workshop. The conditions of his home were simple and he did not have much opportunity to draw, however he was able to do enough to impress Jørgen Roed, an artist who came from the same area. Frederik finally got the opportunity to begin his artistic training in 1838, when he started drawing classes with landscape painter Johannes Georg Smith Harder (also known as Hans Harder) as a student at Sorø Academy. The young Vermehren made good progress drawing free hand, making portraits, and wanted to continue developing his art. His father did not want him to seek an art career, however his wife, the poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann, and the director of the Academy, intervened and convinced Frederik's father to let his son train as an artist.

Frederik Vermehren, Fårehyrde på heden (Shepherd on the Heath), 1855, Statens Museum for Kunst

In 1844 Vermehren went to Copenhagen, where he became a student at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) and trained under Jørgen Roed, who also hailed from his hometown of Ringsted. He exhibited his first painting at Charlottenborg in 1847, "En Skomager i sit Køkken" ("A Shoemaker in his Kitchen"). This painting was purchased by Christian VIII and praised by the art critic and national art form advocate Niels Lauritz Høyen. This type of depiction of typical Danish folk played a central part of Vermehren's productions in the next several decades. Vermehren continued to show at Charlottenborg throughout his life with few years as exceptions.

In 1848, Vermehren joined as a volunteer in the first year of the Three Year's War, but his health did not allow him to continue. On his return home he painted "Reservesoldatens Afsked fra sin Familie" ("The Reserve Soldier's Farewell from his Family"") which was exhibited in 1850, and now hangs in the collection of the Danish National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst).

In the years 1851–1854, he exhibited only a single painting while he completed several of his more important works. One particular work, "Hvedebrødsmanden" ("Wheat bread Seller"), painted in 1851, now hangs in the Hirschsprung Collection. "En jysk Faarehyrde paa Heden" ("A Jutland Shepherd on the Moor"), painted in 1853, was exhibited in 1855 in both Copenhagen and Paris. Vermehren truly came into his own, with these portraits of Jutlanders in their native landscapes.

An Italian shepherd boy (1856)

In 1855 Vermehren traveled with the Academy's support for two years via Cologne, Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, and Switzerland to Italy (Cervera, Gerano, Florence, Venice and Rome). In Italy, he painted interiors, street scenes, landscapes and figure studies. Vermehren also spent a short time in Paris where his work ("A Sheepherder from Jutland on the Prairie") was exhibited, and came to admire the work of the French colourists, particularly Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier. Several paintings based on Italian themes were exhibited including "En italiensk Hyrdedreng" ("An Italian Shepherd") and "Parti fra Byen Gerano" ("View from the Town of Gerano"), both painted in 1858.

Vermehren married Thomasine Ludvigne Grimer on 7 July 1857. Thomasine gave birth to the couple's only son, Gustav, on 28 December 1863, who would grow up to be a genre painter like his father. After his return to Denmark, Vermehren painting's incorporated many Danish themes, painting character studies, interior scenes, landscapes and genre paintings which garnered awards and were purchased by many Danish museums. In 1862, a stipend from the Ancker Fund (Anckerske Legat) allowed Vermehren to travel to the Netherlands, Paris and Rome. His work was shown that same year at the International Exhibition in London.

The Courtyard of Thott Mansion. (1845) Hirschsprung Collection.

Vermehren became a member of the academy in 1864 and teacher in the School of Painting in 1865. Among his students was P. S. Krøyer who studied at the school 1864–1870, Kristian Zahrtmann (1864–1868), Vilhelm Hammershøi and Michael Ancher. As a member of the Exhibition Committee at Charlottenborg in 1864, his work was exhibited at the pan-Nordic exhibition in 1872, 1883 and 1888. Vermehren was a professor in the School of Painting from 1873 until 1901. Vermehren continued to paint character paintings and genre paintings of Danish scenes, however from 1870 and on he was known primarily for his portraits. He painted portraits of notable people during his time, including painters Jørgen Sonne and P. C. Skovgaard, and sculptor professor August Vilhelm Saabye. Having traveled to Paris in 1875, he taught at the school for Drawing and Applied Arts for Women between 1877–1907. His work was exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878. Afterwards, Vermehren traveled to Berlin, Dresden, and Munich in 1883 along with architect, Ferdinand Meldahl.

In 1890 Vermehren received the Treschow award and was named honorary diplomat to Berlin in 1891 where his work was exhibited at the International Art Exhibition. Vermehren was given the honorable title Commander of the Dannebrog in 1892. While in his 60's, he served as a member of the Commission for National Purchase of Artworks between 1890–1896. In 1907, his works were exhibited at the exhibition "Danish Painters" at Guildhall, London. Johan Frederik (Frits) Nikolai Vermehren died on 10 January 1910 in Copenhagen at the age of 86 and is buried in Assistens Cemetery.

Since Vermehren's death his works have been shown in numerous exhibitions in Denmark. Vermehren's work was recently shown in Rome in 1977, where his paintings were part of an exhibition of Danish paintings made in Rome during the 1800s. His works are in the collection of many Danish museums, including the National Art Museum (Statens Museum for Kunst), the Hirschsprung Collection, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and local art museums in Aarhus, West Zealand, and Koldinghus. His careful depictions of ordinary Danish country folk and his attention to detail have helped document a people imperilled by the advance of industrialism. As a painter, he was not interested in the darker aspects of the farmer's life but preferred to show the ideal aspects instead.