Søren Abildgaard

Søren Pedersen Abildgaard (born February 18, 1718 in Flekkefjord , Norway , † July 2, 1791 in Copenhagen ) was a Danish biologist , author and illustrator .

life and work

Drawing of the bronze monument Queen Eufemia in the monastery church of Sorø , 1756

Søren Pedersen Abildgaard was the son of customs officer Peder Abildgaard and his wife Anne Sørensdatter. He went to school in Christianssand and attended the university there until 1737 (today: Agder University ).

Abildgaard traveled all over Denmark, initially as an illustrator and painter on Jacob Langebek's (1710–1775) scientific excursion to the east coast of Denmark (1754–1755), the Baltic Sea region and Sweden . He later went on his own twelve-year journey through Denmark and Norway (1756–1776). He drew every type of natural or architectural monument that could provide information about the past of the Danish-Norwegian personal union. These drawings are now in the University Library in Copenhagen . Since many of his drawings, especially in the case of rune stones and grave monuments, give an impression that is largely free of today's environmental and time influences, they should not be underestimated as image sources .

He was married to Anne Margrethe Bastholm. The couple had two sons: Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (1743-1809) and Peter Christian Abildgaard (1740-1801).

Abildgaard is best known for his two works on topographical mineralogy . After the death of his Danish colleague Otto Friedrich Müller , he edited the other volumes of his Zoologiae Danicae Prodromus, seu Animalium Daniae et Norvegiae Indigenarum characteres, nomina, et synonyma imprimis popularium , 1776 ff.

His abbreviation for zoological taxa is Abildgaard .

literature

Søren Abildgaard . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 1 : Aaberg – Beaumelle . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1887, p. 57 (Danish, runeberg.org ).

Web links

Example of one of his grave memorial drawings

Individual evidence

↑ Harald Ilsøe: Biblioteker Til Salg: Om Danske Bogauktioner Og Kataloger 1661-1811 . Museum Tusculanum Press, 2007, ISBN 978-87-635-0447-8 , p. 176
↑ Finnur Magnússon: Article with the drawings by Søren Abildgaard (Danish)

personal data
SURNAME	Abildgaard, Søren
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Abildgaard, Søren Pedersen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Danish scientist, author and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH	February 18, 1718
PLACE OF BIRTH	Flekkefjord , Norway
DATE OF DEATH	July 2, 1791
Place of death	Copenhagen , Denmark

[1] Harald Ilsøe: Biblioteker Til Salg: Om Danske Bogauktioner Og Kataloger 1661-1811 . Museum Tusculanum Press, 2007, ISBN 978-87-635-0447-8 , p. 176

[2] Finnur Magnússon: Article with the drawings by Søren Abildgaard (Danish)