Thorvaldsen's Museum, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Martinus Rørbye, 1981, no. M. 25.

Exhibited: Kunstforeningen, “Fortegnelse over M. Rørbyes arbejder”, 1905 no. 17. Kunstforeningen, “Arbejder af M. Rørbye”, 1930 no. 12.

Literature: Jesper Svenningsen, “Udlært i stort og småt. Rørbye som Eckersbergs protegé” in the exhibition catalogue “Martinus Rørbye. Det nære og det fjerne”, Øregaard Museum, The Skovgaard Museum, Nivaagaard & Ribe Art Museum, 2014, ill. p. 75.

Provenance: Architect Frederik Lauritz Levy (1905). Art dealer Martin Grosell (1930), his auctions, part III, Winkel & Magnussen 114, 1932 no. 144. The collection of master baker Rein van Hauen (1932). Dr. Alice Reyn, her estate auction Bruun Rasmussen 517, 1988 no. 91, ill. p. 79. Bruun Rasmussen auction 522, 1989 no. 69, ill. p. 60. Kunsthallen auction 502, 1999 no. 45, ill. p. 17, and of the cover of the catalogue. Christie's, London, Old Masters Part, 19th Century Paintings and Drawings from a Private Collection, 2 July 2025 no. 16.

Martinus Rørbye was a student of C.W. Eckersberg (1783–1853) and is considered one of the most significant painters of the Danish Golden Age.

“Moonlight and firelight fascinated the painters of Rørbye’s generation. From Dutch artists such as Aert van der Neer—whose moonlit scenes and fire paintings hung in the Royal Picture Gallery at Christiansborg—they learned to depict moonbeams filtering through clouds and the reflection of light on water. They were also drawn to the romantic landscape vision of artists like J. C. Dahl, who, painting after painting, captured nocturnal moods under the light of the moon.” (Thorvaldsens Museum, “Martinus Rørbye”, 1981, p. 44)

Inspired, among others, by these influences, Rørbye created a number of works in which moonlight plays a central role, including “The Signal Cannon on the Ramparts of the Citadel in Moonlight” (1828, private collection) and “View from the Citadel Ramparts in Copenhagen by Moonlight” (1839, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. No. 2007.164.7).

The present painting is linked to a notable event in the history of Copenhagen. On November 1 1828, Prince Frederik (later King Frederik VII) married Princess Vilhelmine Marie, daughter of King Frederik VI. The wedding was celebrated as a moment of national festivity, symbolising the capital’s revival after decades of war, fire, and economic crisis. Large parts of the city were illuminated with torches, transforming urban spaces into scenes of living light.

In this painting, Rørbye depicts how the soldiers at the Citadel contribute to the celebrations by lighting the city’s outermost ramparts with torches. The contrast between the warm glow of fire and the cool moonlit night sky is characteristic of Rørbye’s sensitivity to mood and atmosphere. The work captures a moment that is both historical and poetic, where the romantic sensibility to light meets the festive culture of the era.