Ambrosia Tønnesen

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Ambrosia Theodora Tønnesen (born January 28, 1859 in Ålesund , Norway , † January 21, 1948 in Fana near Bergen , Norway) is considered the first professional Norwegian sculptor ; she created statues , busts and reliefs in a naturalistic style.

Life and work

Ambrosia Tønnesen was born as the daughter of the captain Abraham Tønnesen (1818–1868) and Thomine Jonasen (1820–1909). At the age of 19 she became a teacher in Bergen. She studied drawing and modeling at Tekniske Aftenskole 'Technical Evening School' . For a while she also studied at Karl Uchermann's painting school .

In 1885 Tønnesen exhibited two paintings and a sculpture at the Bergen art forum , Bergener Kunstverein . In the same year she decided to go to Copenhagen to paint with Bertha Wegmann and to take lessons from the Norwegian sculptor Stephan Sinding . In Copenhagen she decided to focus on sculpture. One of her first works was the bust of a girl entitled Spring , which was followed by several somewhat sentimental portraits of young girls. In autumn 1885 she traveled to Berlin , where she worked on larger formats. On the recommendation of Sinding, she became a student of the sculptor Albert Wolff , who influenced her by German late classicism . Her direct artistic environment in Berlin included the group of artists around the Norwegian painter Hans Fredrik Gude .

In 1886 Tønnesen decided to give up her job as a teacher and devote herself entirely to sculpture. By Otto Lessing she was commissioned a figure for the Lessing monument run by his sketches. In the anniversary exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1886, Tønnesen was allowed to present the bust of a girl; the following year she was represented there with a female plaster bust with the name Sneklokken 'Snowdrop' , for which she later received an order for an execution in marble.

Her further successful career can be traced back to artistic talent as well as the financial means provided by Norwegian sponsors. After two years in Berlin, she was able to travel to Paris in 1887 to continue her training with the sculptor René de Saint-Marceaux . This artist, who works in a realistic style, has probably influenced her the most. Tønnesen also studied at the Académie Colarossi with Jean-Antoine Injalbert and was even allowed to hold substitute lectures there. In 1890 she created one of her main works, the marble crucifix for the altar of the church in Årstad. Statues and busts of important Norwegian personalities were created in her sober, naturalistic style. Tønnesen worked with plaster of paris, bronze and marble, which she worked on by hand. After she had exhibited several times at the Berlin Academy of the Arts , she regularly showed her work in the Paris Salon, sometimes under a male pseudonym. The honorable mention of 1903 can also be found among the awards given to her .

In the autumn of 1888 she met the Englishwoman Mary Banks (1841-1928), with whom she ran a household from 1895. For more than 20 years, the two lived alternately in Paris and in the summer months in Bergen. In 1910 they finally settled in Bergen. Tønnesen continued to work artistically well into her old age before she died in 1948 at the age of almost 90. She was buried in Bergen next to her friend and partner Mary Banks.

Awards

Works

  • Bas-relief
    Dorothe Engelbretsdatter
    (1634–1716)

  • Marble bust
    Amalie Skram
    (1846–1905)

  • Bust of
    Gina Krog
    (1847-1916)

  • Memorial stone
    Peder Knudsen
    (1819–1863)

  • Bust of
    Wollert Konow (SB)
    (1845–1924)

  • Sculpture
    I. C. Dahl
    (1788-1857)

  • Bas-relief
    Petter Dass
    (1646–1707)

  • Bronze bust of
    Claus Fasting
    (1746–1791)

  • Plaster relief of an elderly lady (1881; in the Alte Nationalgalerie , Berlin)
  • Sculpture Våren (1885)
  • Sculpture of a young girl Sneklokken 'Snowdrop' (1887)
  • Plaster sculpture of a child Den første skilling 'The first shilling' (1888)
  • Plaster sculpture of a child Mai, mai fløyte 'Mai, Mai Flöte' (1888)
  • Plaster sculpture of a legendary figure Den onde Hjørdis 'The evil Hjørdis' (1890)
  • Marble sculpture Den korsfestede Kistus 'The Crucified Christ' (1890; on the altar in the church at Årstad near Bergen, Norway)
  • Marble bust of the composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) (1902; in the Grieg Hall , Bergen, Norway)
  • Sculpture by the painter IC Dahl (1788–1857) (1902; on the facade of the KODE 1 Museum for Arts and Crafts and Design in Bergen, Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the violinist Ole Bull (1897–1902) (1904; Den Nationale Scene 'Das Nationaltheater' , Bergen, Norway)
  • Statue of the writer Camilla Collett (1905 in plaster, 1910 in marble; first in the building of the Norske Kvinders Læseforening 'Norwegian Women's Reading Club ' , now in the University Library, Oslo , Norway)
  • Bronze bust of Bishop Ole Irgens (1724–1803) (1906; in Fjellveien near Bergen, Norway)
  • Bas-relief of the poet Petter Dass (1646–1707) (1911; on his tombstone at Bergen Cathedral , Norway)
  • Bas-relief of the poet Dorothe Engelbretsdatter (1634–1716) (1912; on her tombstone at Bergen Cathedral , Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the shipbroker and patron Fridtjof Sundt (1913; in the Bergen Music Conservatory, Norway)
  • Marble bust of the writer Amalie Skram (1846–1905) (1916; at the public library 'Stadtbibliotek' of Bergen, Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the entrepreneur and politician Ludolf Eide (1821–1908) (1917; in the city park of Haugesund , Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the suffragette Gina Krog (1847–1916) (1919; on her grave on Vår Frelsers Gravlund 'Friedhofshain Unser Heiland' , Oslo, Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the politician Haakon J. Storsteen (1822–1908), the first Storting MP from Skåne (1920; in Minneparken in Haugesund , Norway)
  • Bronze bust of Claus Fasting (1746–1791) (1924; at the public library 'Stadtbibliotek' of Bergen , Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the shipowner and politician Christian Michelsen (1857–1925) (1924; in Gamlehaugen Palace , Bergen)
  • Bronze bust of the officer and sportsman Henrik Angell (1861–1922) (1924; in Luster , Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the musician Ingolf A. Schjøtt (1851–1922) (1924; in the Grieg Hall , Bergen, Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the politician Wollert Konow (SB) (1845–1924) (1925; in front of the old town hall of Nesttun (Fana) near Bergen, Norway)
  • Bronze relief by pastor Johan Storjohann (1832–1914) (1926; building stone at the Nykirken 'New Church' , Bergen, Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the businessman Johan Edvard Devold (1850–1916) (1931; Byparken 'Stadtpark' , Ålesund, Norway)
  • Bust of the businessman Peder Elibert Tonning (1847–1927) (1941; in the museum garden at the entrance to the Ålesund Museum, Ålesund, Norway)
  • Bronze bust of Harald Eide (1941; in the Grieghallen ' Grieghalle ' , Bergen, Norway)
  • Bronze relief by the shipowner Haakon Wallem (1870–1951) (1942; replica from 1965; in Nordnæsdalen, Norway)
  • Plaster bust of the writer Nordahl Grieg (1946)
  • Memorial stone for the organist Peder Knudsen (1819–1863), (1947, Tønnese's last work; in front of Ålesund Church , Norway)
  • Bronze statue of the writer Kristofer Randers (1851-1917) ( Ålesund , Norway)
  • Bronze bust of the merchant Edvard Germanus Johannessen (1848–1922) ( Nordnesparken 'Nordnespark' , Bergen, Norway)

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Until 1972 Fana was an independent municipality, today a large part of Fana is an administrative district of Bergen
  2. ↑ This sculpture is considered to be the first public monument made by a woman in Norway.
  3. ↑ The KODE 1 building was formerly known as Permanenten and housed the Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum 'West Norwegian Museum of Decorative Arts'
  4. ↑ A settlement on the southeast side of the Olsokfjellet 'Olsokberg' southwest of Bergen with a sports field Wallemspark 'Wallem-Park' .
  5. ↑ Organist at Ålesund Church
  6. ↑ He published translations of Goethe and Shakespeare under a pseudonym.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bjørn Steenstrup: Hvem er Hvem? ,Who is who?' . Ed .: HJ. Steenstrup. H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard), Oslo (Norwegian, Runeberg project ).
  2. ^ Anniversary exhibition of the Kgl. Academy of Arts in the State Exhibition Building in Berlin (1886) . Illustrated catalog. Berliner Verlag Comtoir, Berlin 1886, p. 278 , catalog no. 1806 , urn : nbn: de: gbv: 601-2174 ( digishelf.de ).
  3. ↑ 59th Exhibition of the Kgl. Academy of Arts in the State Exhibition Building in Berlin (1887) . Illustrated catalog. 2nd Edition. Emil Dominik, Publishing House for Art and Literature, Berlin 1887, p. 244 , catalog no. 1255 , urn : nbn: de: gbv: 601-2181 ( digishelf.de ).
  4. ↑ Ludolf Eide. In: scandion.no. Magne Opdal, accessed December 3, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Oversikt statuer, minnesmerker, relieffer i Ålesund 'Overview of the statues, monuments, reliefs in Ålesund' . In: alesund.kommune.no. Retrieved December 5, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Tønnesen, Ambrosia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tønnesen, Ambrosia Theodora (full name); Tönnesen, Ambrosia Theodora (German spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian sculptress
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Ålesund , Norway
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1948
Place of death Fana near Bergen , Norway