Christen Købke (b. Copenhagen 1810, d. s.p. 1848)
Purchased by “The Metropolitan Museum of Art” in September 2013.
Portrait of Christophle Louis Engelhard Dalgas (1801–1878). Signed Christen Købke and dated Napoli, den 4 Marts 1840. Pencil on paper laid on paper. Sheet size 20×15 cm.
The brother of Louis Dalgas, Jean Antoine Dalgas (1788–1835) was a Danish consul and merchant in Livorno. He was the father of Carlo Dalgas and Enrico Mylius Dalgas, who married Maria Magdalene Christiane Købke, the daughter of the second cousin of the painter.
Constantin Hansen, who in 1839–1840 stayed in Naples along with Christen Købke writes in a letter to Edvard Collin at the end of 1839 (in Danish): “We came to Naples accurat for Christmas Eve which was held here at the Ferrari ..... Apart from P. - Møller with wife, there was a brother of Consul Dalgas in Livorno .... ”. (H. P. Rohde: “En guldaldermaler i Italien”, 1977, p. 139). The brother mentioned in the letter is the portrayed Louis Dalgas.
Provenance: The collection of Museum director Peter Hertz, ABR auction 226, 1968 no. 32, reproduced. The Estate of Johan and Randi Dæhnfeldt.
Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.
Paintings & drawings, 17 September 2013