Sentinels on the ramparts of the citadel by moonlight (Signalkanonen pas Citadelsvolden i maneskin)

Details

MARTINUS RØRBYE (DRAMMEN 1803 - 1848 COPENHAGEN)
Sentinels on the ramparts of the citadel by moonlight (Signalkanonen pas Citadelsvolden i maneskin)
signed with initial and dated '1828/R' (centre right)
oil on canvas
10 ½ x 8 5⁄8 in. (26.6 x 22 cm.)
Painted in September 1828.

Provenance

Gifted from the artist to his friend, I.P. Møller, Copenhagen.
(Possibly) Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg and his daughters, Copenhagen.
Martin Grossell Collection sale; Winkel & Magnussen, Copenhagen, 1932, lot 138.
Henry Nexoe-Larsen, Copenhagen.
Anonymous sale; Arne Bruun-Rasmussen, Copenhagen, 1979, lot 24.
Anonymous sale; Kunsthallen, Copenhagen, 8 February 1995, lot 113, where acquired by the present owner.

Literature

K. Flor, De Gamle Volde, Copenhagen, 1942, p. 73, as 'Signalkanonen'.
Exh. cat. eds. D Helsted et al., Martinus Rorbye 1803-1848, Copenhagen, 1981, p. 44.

Exhibited

Copenhagen, Charlottenborg, 1829, no. 40.
Copenhagen, Radhusudstillingen, 1901.
Copenhagen, Kunstforeningen, 1905 no. 15.
Copenhagen, Kunstforeningen, 1930 no. 11.
Copenhagen, Thorvaldsens Museum, Martinus Rørbye, 1981, no. 18

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Alastair Plumb Senior Specialist, Head of Sale, European Art

aplumb@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7752 3298

Lot Essay

The red colour of the cannon is blackened in the darkness of the night. The two soldiers, backs to the viewer, look from the low rampart in front of the Grevens Bastion accross the water to the Batteriet Sextus - the main guarding point of the Naval Shipyard on Nyholm.

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