Christen Købke

Christen Købke was a Danish painter and one of the finest talents of the Danish Golden Age, the rich period of art in early nineteenth century Copenhagen. Born in 1810, he trained at the Royal Danish Academy and became known for quiet, closely observed views of the buildings, people, and countryside around his home city. He rarely traveled far, finding endless subjects close at hand.

His paintings have a clear, gentle light and a sense of everyday truth, whether he is showing a city gate, a fellow artist, or a stretch of sky over a lake. He won little fame in his short life and died at just thirty seven in 1848. Long afterward his reputation grew steadily, and he is now regarded as one of Denmark's greatest painters.