Dorph, Anton (1831-1914)

Anton Laurids Johannes Dorph second name:
Horsens, 15-02-1831-Copenhagen, 12-01-1914, painter
Nationality: Danish
Work Place: Denmark

Education:
First Artis. RRP. with n. Habbe and J.C. Dahl; opt. at Kunstakad. KBH. Oct. 1845 (C.W. Eckersberg, w. M 1849-50); small sølvmed. 1849; St. sølvmed. 1850; painted by model with Th. Couture in Paris in 1854.

Travel and stay abroad:
Of Berlin and Dresden to Northern Italy and Paris 1854; over Hamburg to Netherlands, Belgium, Paris and the South of France 1859; ROM winter 1860-61.

Scholarships and honours:
Neuhausens per 1857; Academy. 1859, 1860; eration. by Kunstakad. 1871; titular Prof. 1893.

Exhibitions:
Charl. Spring 1849-54, 1856-60, 1862-87, 1889-94, 1896-1901, 1903-07, 1909, 1914; Charl. OJ. 1905; Artist foren. of 18. Nov., 1882, 1942; North. Kunstudst., Cph. 1872, 1883, 1888; verdensudst. Paris 1878, Chicago 1893; Theaterudst., Cph. 1898; Raadhusudst., Cph. 1901; Landsudst., Aarhus 1909.

Biography:
Anton Dorph is one of several Danish painters, as in the period between 1850 and 1870 oriented itself towards the European models. Despite the teaching of C.W. Eckersberg and v. Marstrand he is more akin to what posterity has called the salon painters, particularly the French, Belgian and German, than with the generation (Christen Dalsgaard, etc.), who continued the Danish tradition from before 1850. Dorphs motif circle, and to some extent also style is clearly akin to his friend Carl Bloch's youth. Typical for both of them is the long line of genre motifs with old Dutch models, as well as the religious history painting. In addition, Dorph a competent portrait painter. Although he never got a similar breakthrough in his time as Bloch, achieved a no small Dorph popularity. His fishing situations existed as reproductions in a large number of homes; one of these is possibly the first or one of the first examples of Danish oil pressure. Of orders on new altarpieces in the second half of the 19th century not a small number went to D more than 50 religious compositions were it to. This essential part of Dorphs production is characterised by a simple and quiet figure style, probably inspired by Thorvaldsen's decoration of the Church of our Lady in Copenhagen, letfattelighed and a mixture of lyrical ease and gentle gravity. A common model for Bloch and Dorph seems here to be the French painter Horace Vernet, in whom one finds the same tendency toward a plentiful sødladen, glansbilledagtig coloring and tell technique.