Monday 7 January 2013

Carl Heinrich Bloch Danish Master

By William M. Martin


You might not be aware of Carl Heinrich Bloch, but you have likely seen examples of his art work. He was a Danish artist born in Copenhagen where he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. He produced a number of collections depicting scenes from the life of Christ from the New Testament. Some of his work is on display at the University of Copenhagen and others are in chapels throughout Denmark and Sweden.

After departing Copenhagen and all through his early career Bloch journeyed to Italy, France and Holland and went on with his studies. During this time he used Rome as his base of operations. There he established his academic style of painting and created a number of fine paintings. His Italian paintings created a great interest in him and he shot to popularity during this time period.

While in Holland, Bloch came in contact with the work of Dutch master Rembrandt Van Rijn. Rembrandt is known to have influenced numerous other artists, which made a profound impact on Bloch. He became the basis for how Bloch decided to compose a great deal of his future work.

Bloch's first accomplishment was his exhibit of "Prometheus Unbound" but his most famous paintings are taken straight from bible verses. It is stated that these paintings appear to come to life in their depiction of moments out of the Bible. Some examples are scenes painted for the University of Copenhagen ceremony hall. The University has got the complete works he utilized to help create these paintings.

One more reason why Carl Heinrich Bloch is widely known is due to the colors and excellence of the art which he created. The range of scenes, the look, and sense of his biblical scenes allow you to be pulled into every piece. His art is known for producing a great emotional response within the viewer. Carl Heinrich Bloch?s art is so realistic it is sometimes called living works of art.

In 1865 he was commissioned to produce twenty three painting illustrating the life of Christ for the Chapel at Frederiksborg Palace. They were to replace prior works damaged by fire. He worked tirelessly on these for the next fourteen years and they are his legacy to the art world. The majority of the paintings are taken straight from the New Testament. "The Woman at the Well", "Jesus Tempted", and "Christ in Gethsemane" are just some of the paintings developed for this project.

Today Bloch is well known around the world primarily because of the media of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They spread the Later-day Saint gospel through television ads, magazine ads, and other types of advertising. Due to the superior quality, beauty and precise representation of Bible scenes Bloch's artwork has been used in many of their advertisements as well as in their literature. Anyone who has received their literature or seen a print ad may not have known who created the work, nonetheless they recognize it immediately.




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