Foreign Travel
Gold medal or not however, the Academy did award Marstrand a travel stipend. In August 1836 he began the first of his many travels, going by way of Germany to Rome in Italy, stopping on the way at Berlin, Dresden, Nuremberg, and Munich. In Italy, where he stayed for four years, he painted many idealized depictions of daily life, especially festivities. He returned to Italy several times, the last visit being in 1869, and when in Rome he spent summer months each year in the hill towns Olevano Romano, Civitella and Subiaco. He was enchanted with Italy and with the ways of life of the Italian people. He portrayed a colorful, joyous, and romantic view of them, infused with a new found ideal of beauty.
He also painted a number of portraits during this first stay in Italy. Among these are portraits of other travelling Danish artists, such as Christen Købke and travelling partner Johan Adolph Kittendorff. He completed sketches for a large portrait of botanist and politician, J.F. Schouw, which would be later realized as a painting.
Read more about this topic: Wilhelm Marstrand
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