Herman Siegumfeldt

Siegumfeldt was born at Haregabsgaarden in the parish of Esbønderup in North Zealand, Denmark. He was the son of Heinrich Anton Siegumfeldt, a farmer, and Maren Cathrine Schou.^[3]

At the age of eleven, he was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Later, he studied with Niels Simonsen while taking practical courses in handicrafts.^[4] He won a small silver medal at the age of seventeen, but his financial situation was precarious, so he had to devote himself to crafts rather than continue his art studies.^[5][6]

By the winter of 1854–55, he had saved enough to give all his time to painting and was able to make a sale to the Kunstforeningen. The following year, they acquired several more works. His simple, naturally composed works soon attracted a large audience. From 1857 to 1860, he concentrated on painting landscapes.^[4]

Before he had quite achieved financial security, he injured his right arm during a trip to Sweden. It took several years to fully recover. Meanwhile, it required a great deal of effort to complete a canvas and he considered the possibility of having to give up painting. In 1863, pleased with one of his works, the Royal Academy granted him a travel allowance to study in Belgium, France and Italy.^[7]

During a travel, his right thumb became inflamed and had to be amputated. He returned home and, following a long period of idleness, decided to give up art. The resulting depression led him to enter a mental hospital.^[4] He made a recovery after three years, and once again took up painting. By 1880, he was a member of the Royal Academy's organization committee and had produced some of his best-known portraits. In 1897, he created an altar painting of Paul on the road to Damascus for St. Paul's Church, Aarhus. He died during 1912 in Copenhagen.^[8]

Media related to Herman Siegumfeldt at Wikimedia Commons

• ArtNet: More works by Siegumfeldt.