Bertha Wegmann

“Ha, that such a person should be a painter! No, she must be charwoman! A charwoman, she is probably better suited for that!” That is how it went from morning to night, until I really felt like an idiot and became more and more confused and unhappy and therefore did more and more stupid things, so he, the madman, became more and more choleric and unruly.”

This is how Bertha Wegmann (1846–1926) described her experiences of the tuition she received as a 15-year-old from the painter F.C. Lund. Fortunately, she did not let herself be cowed and in her time became one of the few female artists to achieve both national and international recognition. Bertha Wegmann’s production includes genre paintings, landscapes, interiors and still lifes, but she also became one of the most significant portrait painters of the day for the cultural and economic elite. 

Bertha Wegmann was born in Switzerland but grew up in Denmark. She trained as an artist in Munich from 1867–81 and then in Paris, where she was influenced by French Naturalism and Impressionism. She subsequently settled in Denmark, where she had previously made her début at Charlottenborg’s Spring Exhibition in 1873. She exhibited here until her death, but simultaneously participated in exhibitions in the Nordic countries and Europe, including at the Salon in Paris, where she was awarded a gold medal in 1882. In 1883, she received the Thorvaldsen Medal, and the Medal of Merit in gold in 1892 – as one of the first women to receive the honour. 

The improvement of the conditions for women artists was a key issue for Bertha Wegmann, and she became a member of the board of Tegne- og Kunstindustriskolen for Kvinder (Draftsmanship and Industrial Design School for Women), a position she held from 1887–1907. She was the first ever woman to be awarded a seat in the Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ Plenary Assembly, and in 1887 was also the first woman elected to the selection committee of Charlottenborg’s Spring Exhibition.