Otto Christian Trolle (b. Copenhagen 1736, d. s.p. 1798) Trompe l'oeil with a wooden board with an almanac, compass, pencil, and newspaper. 1774. Unsigned. Gouache and watercolour on paper. Sheet size 47.5×55.5 cm. Visible size 47×55 cm. Louis XVI frame. Not much is known about the early life of Otto Christian Trolle, but it is possible that he was introduced to painting by his father and later trained in the circle of the Norwegian painter Hans Arbien (1713–1766). Apart from an early equestrian portrait of King Frederik V from 1760 and his work on the large botanical work Flora Danica, still-life and trompe l’oeil paintings seem to have constituted the bulk of his work. It was also the latter genre, which made Trolle popular with King Christian VII, who in 1780–81 ordered and paid for an unknown number of his works. This acknowledgement from the sovereign, must have goaded Trolle, who in 1783 applied for a yearly salary from the king, in the position as “Professor of my art and sciences”. In the application, Trolle further describes himself as “the only person in this country, who has perfected this form of painting”. (”Otto Christian Trolle” by Dyveke Helsted in: Weilbach Dansk Kunstnerleksikon, vol. VIII, 1998, p. 377.) In recent times, seven of Trolle’s works have featured in the exhibition ”Trompe l’oeil gennem 300 år” in 1975. Of the works listed in Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon, the present painting is presumably the one listed as ”Bræddevæg med almanak, passer, blyant og avis” (“Wooden board with an almanac, compass, pencil, and newspaper”) from 1774. The present drawing is a form of trompe l’oeil called ”quodlibet”, which means “what you will”. Wærum and Schoubye describes this form as (in Danish): ”[…] a precise imitation of a wooden board whereupon is mounted a horisontal piece of string, which serves to secure random letters […], envelopes, bills, tickets, engravings, playing cards, newspaper articles, a wax seal, keys, spectacles, a compass, pen, and almanacs”. In Denmark, we are especially familiar with the trompe l’oeil works of the Flemish painter Cornelis Gijsbrechts (1630-ca. 1675), where amongst several belong to the quodlibet genre. Gijsbrechts was hired as the court painter for King Frederik III from 1668–1670, a period in which he completed 22 trompe l’oeil paintings. 19 of these works are located in the collection at The National Gallery of Denmark. (Preface to the catalogue for the exhibition at Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum, ”Trompe l’oeil gennem 300 år - En udstilling om at bedrage øjet eller ”narre” i kunsten”, 1975.) The inscription on the clippings suggests that the present trompe l'oeil is made in memory of sea cadet Claus Benedict Peter Ludvig von Gyldenskiold, who passed away in his 11th year after a deadly fall down the stairs of the Sea Cadet Academy (Søkadetakademiet) on 27 May 1774. The depicted newspaper article, wherein his death is reported, is from 'Kjøbenhavns Adressecomptoirs Efterretninger' (“Adresseavisen”), vol. 16, no. 23, dated 31 May 1774. Claus Benedikt von Gyldenskiold was the son of Chamberlain Peter Schønnemann von Gyldenskiold (1726–1803) and Christiane Louise von Gyldenskiold (1734–1800). Claus Benedict Gyldenskjold's death is also mentioned in “Dødsfald i Danmark 1761–90 samlede efter ”Adresseavisen“” (Deaths in Denmark 1761–90 obtained from “Adresseavisen”) by V. Richter, 1907, p. 46, which might indicate that Richter has obtained his information from the depicted newspaper article.
Condition
Otto Christian Trolle (b. Copenhagen 1736, d. s.p. 1798) Trompe l'oeil with a wooden board with an almanac, compass, pencil, and newspaper. 1774. Unsigned. Gouache and watercolour on paper. Sheet size 47.5×55.5 cm. Visible size 47×55 cm. Louis XVI frame. Not much is known about the early life of Otto Christian Trolle, but it is possible that he was introduced to painting by his father and later trained in the circle of the Norwegian painter Hans Arbien (1713–1766). Apart from an early equestrian portrait of King Frederik V from 1760 and his work on the large botanical work Flora Danica, still-life and trompe l’oeil paintings seem to have constituted the bulk of his work. It was also the latter genre, which made Trolle popular with King Christian VII, who in 1780–81 ordered and paid for an unknown number of his works. This acknowledgement from the sovereign, must have goaded Trolle, who in 1783 applied for a yearly salary from the king, in the position as “Professor of my art and sciences”. In the application, Trolle further describes himself as “the only person in this country, who has perfected this form of painting”. (”Otto Christian Trolle” by Dyveke Helsted in: Weilbach Dansk Kunstnerleksikon, vol. VIII, 1998, p. 377.) In recent times, seven of Trolle’s works have featured in the exhibition ”Trompe l’oeil gennem 300 år” in 1975. Of the works listed in Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon, the present painting is presumably the one listed as ”Bræddevæg med almanak, passer, blyant og avis” (“Wooden board with an almanac, compass, pencil, and newspaper”) from 1774. The present drawing is a form of trompe l’oeil called ”quodlibet”, which means “what you will”. Wærum and Schoubye describes this form as (in Danish): ”[…] a precise imitation of a wooden board whereupon is mounted a horisontal piece of string, which serves to secure random letters […], envelopes, bills, tickets, engravings, playing cards, newspaper articles, a wax seal, keys, spectacles, a compass, pen, and almanacs”. In Denmark, we are especially familiar with the trompe l’oeil works of the Flemish painter Cornelis Gijsbrechts (1630-ca. 1675), where amongst several belong to the quodlibet genre. Gijsbrechts was hired as the court painter for King Frederik III from 1668–1670, a period in which he completed 22 trompe l’oeil paintings. 19 of these works are located in the collection at The National Gallery of Denmark. (Preface to the catalogue for the exhibition at Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum, ”Trompe l’oeil gennem 300 år - En udstilling om at bedrage øjet eller ”narre” i kunsten”, 1975.) The inscription on the clippings suggests that the present trompe l'oeil is made in memory of sea cadet Claus Benedict Peter Ludvig von Gyldenskiold, who passed away in his 11th year after a deadly fall down the stairs of the Sea Cadet Academy (Søkadetakademiet) on 27 May 1774. The depicted newspaper article, wherein his death is reported, is from 'Kjøbenhavns Adressecomptoirs Efterretninger' (“Adresseavisen”), vol. 16, no. 23, dated 31 May 1774. Claus Benedikt von Gyldenskiold was the son of Chamberlain Peter Schønnemann von Gyldenskiold (1726–1803) and Christiane Louise von Gyldenskiold (1734–1800). Claus Benedict Gyldenskjold's death is also mentioned in “Dødsfald i Danmark 1761–90 samlede efter ”Adresseavisen“” (Deaths in Denmark 1761–90 obtained from “Adresseavisen”) by V. Richter, 1907, p. 46, which might indicate that Richter has obtained his information from the depicted newspaper article.
Condition
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
