Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, 2016, Cat. No. 26, mentioned p. 45, ill. p. 45.

Provenance: Circolo Scandinavo / Skandinavisk Forening i Rom (Inv. No. A 20).

The two Norwegian painters Christian Meyer Ross and Peder Severin Krøyer met each other as early as in the 1860s, when they both studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. After three years in Copenhagen, Ross continued his education in Munich as a student of Wilhelm von Diez (1839–1907), where he studied the historical genre painting.

After completing his studies in Munich, Ross lived for a number of years in Paris before settling in Rome. It was in Italy, in Florence in 1879, that he again met Krøyer. Here, they spent a short month together with their Norwegian compatriot Eilif Peterssen (1852–1928), before the journey continued to Rome, where Ross lived until his death in 1904. During a joint stay in Sora, a small city east of Rome, Krøyer wrote several letters in which he describes his work but also the working conditions in the sunny city. In a letter to his friend and colleague Frants Henningsen (1850–1908), he writes on 15th of August 1880 (in Danish): “I am having a terribly nice time here; Eilif Peterssen and Ross have come here, we have an instrument, sing quartets (4th voice is an Neapolitan engineer) and spend our free time at (the) best. (..) You can hardly do without comrades' criticism and company for long periods of time” (Ernst Mentze, ”P. S. Krøyer. Kunstner af stort format – med brændte vinger”, pp. 90–91). Ross is also included in Krøyer's work “Breakfast in Sora” (1880) (Nasjonalmuseet, Inv. No. NG.M.01570 ).

Christian Meyer Ross was a central figure among the Scandinavians in Rome, and for a number of years he was chairman of Skandinavisk Forening. His home in Rome became a center for Scandinavian artists, and Ross' contacts to the cosmopolitan bourgeoisie helped the artists finance their stay through commisions. In the present portrait - painted on the same day as Krøyer's portrait of Eilif Peterssen - Krøyer has depicted Ross in profile. His gregarious nature, as seen in the quote above, is set aside for a moment in this portrait, where he appears more formally.