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Martinus Rørbye or Adam Müller. Model study, 1833
Martinus Rørbye (1803-1848) or Adam Müller (1811-1844). Model study 1833, oil on canvas. Unsigned. 37.5 x 26.5 (43.5 x 32) cm.
On 3 January 1833, Prof. Eckersberg writes in his diary: 'Tonight we had a female model for the first time in the model school.' On 26 June in the same year, he wrote the following: 'Began to paint after a beautiful female model with C. Hansen, Købke and Marstrand'. In addition to these three, Martinus Rørbye and Adam Müller also participated in the work, as well as C.W. Eckersberg's son Erling E., who stood just to the left of Constantin Hansen. All of them were finished on 30 June. It is uncertain whether Rørbye or Müller painted this study. All five studies, as well as a much elaborated drawing now attributed to Erling E., show the same female model from behind, and if the pictures are compared, it can be seen that the artists have stood around the room and viewed the model from different angles. Eckersberg determined the model's pose and provided the red cloth, the folds of which can be seen in all five paintings. As can be seen from Marstrand's picture, which sold for DKK 1,000,000 at Museumbygningen's auction no. 14, he was the only one who had placed a glass of wine on the table in front of the model, while Rørbye's/Müller's model study is the only one that has left out the pearl necklace around the model's neck. Exhibited: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek 1981: 'The Model in the Danish Golden Age', reproduced on p. 6 of the exhibition catalogue and discussed in the text written by Anne Birgitte Fonsmark. Exhibited in the Hirschsprung Collection 1994, 'The Naked Golden Age', catalogue no. 39, discussed and reproduced on p. 91 of the exhibition catalogue. Reproduced and discussed in Prof. Arne Brenna: 'Aktmaleri fra dansk guldalder', in: 'Kunst og Kultur', University of Oslo, Vol. 57, 1974, p. 93, ff. Discussed and reproduced in Kasper Monrad: 'Hverdagsbilleder, Dansk Guldalder', 1989, p. 140, fig. 121. Discussed in Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen: 'Købke og Kastellet', Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 1981, p. 34 ff.
Provenance: Museumsbygningen Kunstauktioner, catalogue no. 18, August 2001.
Valuation specialist Henrik Münster-Swendsen (formerly of Museumsbygningen and Lauritz.com) maintains that it was Rørbye who painted the study, as Rørbye was left-handed, and in close examination it can be seen that the brush strokes are different to what they would have been if a right-handed artist had painted the study.
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