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Cliffs at Civita Castellana
Thorald LAESSOE
(Frederikshavn 1816 - Copenhague 1878)
Oil on paper laid down on canvas and panel
H. 0.19 m; W. 0.26 m
Signed and dated lower right: Th. Lassöe 26 Juni 56
Date: 1856
Provenance: Private collection
Exhibited: Märchen eines Lebens. Mit Christian Andersen durch das malerische Europa, Hamburg, Altonaer Museum, 16 March - 12 June 2005; Flensburg, Museumsberg Flensburg, 26 June - 4 September 2005.
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Thorald Læssøe began as a pupil of animal painter Christopher Holm. In 1834, he was admitted to the Royal Academy, which he attended somewhat sporadically until 1839. Essentially self-taught, he took classes with Christen Købke for some time, and some of his works were strongly influenced by his teacher. He soon became friends with Lundbye, Jerichau and Frølich. In 1842, he traveled across Europe, settling down in Italy from 1844 to 1857, and quickly built a reputation as a landscape painter. He traveled to Greece, where he studied and brought back drawings of famous sites, plein air sketches full of meticulous detail. He journeyed a second time to Italy from 1866 to 1868, where he met the famous French landscape artist, Achille Bénouville, in Rome. Between 1836 and 1876, he regularly took part in the Academy exhibitions at Charlottenborg. While he had once exhibited his landscapes of the North, as well as the area west of the island of Sealand, his work starting in 1846 featured exclusively southern motifs: Rome and its surroundings, and Greece.
His favourite themes are the landscapes and architecture of Rome, which he bathes in light. This beautiful piece depicts a view of the cliffs at Civita Castellana, located in the province of Viterbe, north of Rome. Many artists came to the region to find inspiration, seduced by the beautiful landscapes.
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