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BLOCH, Carl Heinrich - b. 1834 København, d. 1890 København - WGA

BLOCH, Carl Heinrich

(b. 1834 København, d. 1890 København)

Danish painter. He studied with Wilhelm Marstrand (1810-1873) at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) there. His early work featured rural scenes from everyday life. From 1859 to 1866, Bloch lived in Italy, and this period was important for the development of his historical style.

His first great success was the exhibition of his “Prometheus Unbound” in Copenhagen in 1865. After the death of Marstrand, he finished the decoration of the ceremonial hall at the University of Copenhagen.

He was then commissioned to produce 23 paintings for the Chapel at Frederiksborg Palace. These were all scenes from the life of Christ which have become very popular as illustrations. The originals, painted between 1865 and 1879, are still at Frederiksborg Palace.

Cleansing of the Temple
Cleansing of the Temple by

Cleansing of the Temple

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In a Roman Osteria
In a Roman Osteria by

In a Roman Osteria

This painting is an intensified version of a painting by one of Bloch’s major predecessors, Wilhelm Marstrand (1810-1873); specifically his charming Italian Osteria Scene from 1848 (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek). It is one of Bloch’s most popular genre pictures and is typical of his seductive ability to depict objects, details, and clothes with striking realism.

Bloch’s genre paintings were usually very amusing, but also often rather strange and very much open to interpretation.

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Samson and the Philistines
Samson and the Philistines by

Samson and the Philistines

Bloch painted Samson and the Philistines in Rome in 1863. It was followed by several similar pictures, which brought Bloch great recognition, carving him a reputation among his contemporaries as Denmark’s greatest painter.

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The Sermon On the Mount
The Sermon On the Mount by

The Sermon On the Mount

Bloch’s principal work is the series of 23 paintings with scenes from the New Testament that the brewer J.C. Jacobsen (1811-1887) of Carlsberg commissioned in 1865 as decorations for King Christian IV’s (1577-1648) prayer seat in Frederiksborg Chapel.

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