Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, 2016, Cat. No. 48, mentioned p. 71–72, ill. p. 72.

Provenance: Circolo Scandinavo / Skandinavisk Forening i Rom (Inv. No. AI 35).

The Swedish painter Bengt Nordenberg traveled to Stockholm in 1843 to study at The Royal Institute of Arts. Showing his talent at the Academy, he traveled to Düsseldorf in 1851 to study under the German painter Theodor Hildebrandt (1804–1874), whose influence is evident in many of his works. In 1856, Nordenberg received a scholarship from the Swedish government, leading him first to Paris and subsequently to Rome, where he arrived in 1858. Theobald Stein, who has drawn the present portrait of Nordenberg, was originally trained as a sculptor, making this portrait one of the few drawn portraits he has made.