Fritz Petzholdt

Nationality: Danish

1805 - 1838

Petzholdt studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, from 1824 to 1828, and was the only one of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg’s many students to dedicate himself to landscape painting. While he did not win the Academy’s travel prize, Petzholdt was able to travel abroad due to his family’s wealth. In 1830, he journeyed south through Germany, stopping in Venice and Florence on his way to Rome, where he joined the Danish artist colony centered around Bertel Thorvaldsen. He also visited Naples and Sicily. He died shortly after arriving in Patras, Greece, in 1838.

Place of Birth: Copenhagen
Place of Death: Patras

Text written and researched by Amy Marquis Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.