Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, 2016, Cat. No. 39, mentioned p. 59, ill. p. 59.

Provenance: Circolo Scandinavo / Skandinavisk Forening i Rom (Inv. No. AI 13).

Just like his Swedish painter colleagues Olof Johan Södermark (1790–1848) and his son Per Södermark (1822–1899), Carl Wahlbom also began his career in the military before being admitted to The Royal Insitute of Art in Stockholm in 1829. Due to financial difficulties, Wahlbom was forced to drop out of the Academy, but he still managed to maintain his artistic practice by earning money through his drawings. Wahlbom desired to travel, but since he was not fortunate enough to receive a scholarship from the Academy, he raised capital with the help of friends to go to Paris. In Paris, his financial means were limited, and local art dealers showed no interest in his drawings. He subsequently traveled to Rome in 1843, where his luck turned, and based on the work he sent home, he received a two-year scholarship in 1845, which extended his stay and provided financial stability.

Anders Lunde had a similar past when he met Carl Wahlbom in Rome in 1847; Lunde also traveled to Italy despite not having financial support from a scholarship. However, like Wahlbom, the works he sent back to Denmark attracted buyers so much that he was also awarded a two-year scholarship in 1844–45, and did therefore not return home until 1847.