Christine Marie Løvmand (19 March 1803, Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 - 10 April 1872, Copenhagen) was a Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 artist who specialized in paintings of flowers and still life

Still life

A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...

s. She was one of the few women at the time who gained recognition as a painter.

Biography

As a child, Løvmand had helped her sick mother look after the five children in the family. When her father died in 1826, she resolved to work hard to support the family. From 1824, both Christine and her sister Frederikke started to have painting and drawing lessons with the flower painter Johannes Ludvig Camradt. In 1827, the two sisters began to exhibit at Charlottenborg's spring exhibitions. From 1831 to 1834, Christine was one of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig , to Henrik Vilhelm Eckersberg, painter and carpenter, and Ingeborg Nielsdatter...

's students. The lessons were held on Sundays, probably because it was not possible for the professor to include her in his classes with male students.

Christine Løvmand was one of the few female painters during the Danish Golden Age. Her favorite subjects were flowers and fruits. The first official recognition she received came in 1827 when the Royal Collection first purchases one of her paintings. In 1842, she received a stipend from King Christian VIII

Christian VIII of Denmark

Christian VIII , was king of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, king of Norway in 1814. He was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, born in 1786 at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen...

 which allowed her to study in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In 1846, she was able to pay for a short study trip to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 herself. She admitted that the study trips widened her understanding of art but had little effect on her own painting as nearly all her time was taken up with teaching. Indeed, for an extended period she instructed young women in painting in her own home. Among her students were the actress Johanne Luise Heiberg

Johanne Luise Heiberg

Johanne Luise Heiberg was one of the greatest Danish actresses of the 19th century. She is most famous for her work at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where she achieved great success.-Early life:...

, the writer Benedicte Arnesen Kall and her cousin Eleonora Tscherning who also became a recognized painter.

Selected works

• En kurv med blomster og nogle vindruer på en piedestal (1827)
• En kurv med frugter i et landskab (1832)
• En buket blomster ved foden af et træ (1832)
• Blomsterstykke (1841)
• Frugter i et italiensk landskab (c. 1844)
• Blomster på en sten
• Tulipaner og aurikler (1858)
• En krans af efterårets sidste blomsterflor (c. 1872)