Educated at the Royal Art Academy in 1831, and a pupil of Eckersberg, Petersen was one of the great Danish artists of the Golden Age. Petersen’s father died at a young age and Petersen and his family suffered and struggled with poverty. Petersen had to stop in the middle of his promising carrier as a painter to work odd jobs to support his family. The brilliant early works of Petersen was forgotten up until 1982, where the public got reintroduced to his works and the art critics praised Petersen as a brilliant master of art. Petersen is today considered an important member of the Danish Golden age and his works are compared to artists like Th. Lundbye, P.C. Skovgaard and Vilhelm Kyhn.
Exhibitions:
Charlottenborg: 1833-1875.
L’Art et la cité, Pal. des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles :1963.
Artists of Golden Age: 1982.
The National Museum of Art: 1983.
Collection of Wilhelm Petersen at Marienlyst: 1990.
Estimated value / Auction prices:
Vilhelm Petersen is listed in artprice. com and was sold last year for $27,795.
(Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen. 09-12-2003. Lot no: 1239)
Øbro Art Gallery 