Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, 2016, Cat. No. 21, mentioned p. 40, ill. p. 39.

Provenance: Circolo Scandinavo / Skandinavisk Forening i Rom (Inv. No. AI 38b).

In the exhibition catalogue “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, this very fine description of Ernst Meyer and his close friends and large circle of friends appears (in Danish): “It is no coincidence that Lorenz Frølich's portrait of Ernst Meyer is inscribed 'Olevano'. Upon his arrival in Rome in 1824, Meyer immediately sought out the German artist colony in the mountain town. Thorvaldsen's first biographer, J. M. Thiele, writes in 'Af mit livs Aarbøger': ”Signor Ernesto remained, as is well known, a faithful friend of these first Roman acquaintances in Olevano until the day of his death“. Danish as well as German fellow artists sought Meyer's company in Olevano. And the good motives, of course. Meyer expressed this with usual irony and humor: ”I really don't want them out there; they are stealing the motives from me.” The characteristic portrait was probably made in connection with Frølich and Marstrand's visit to Olevano in early 1847. Marstrand also made a portrait of the friend - painted en face. For both portraits, Thiele's description of Meyer's radiance is quite apt: “den scharfen, durchdringenden Blick (...) sowie seine scharfen, oft witzigen Äusserungen.” Whether it was the local mountain farmers, colleagues, his own Jewish ancestry or women, Meyer had a quick and often mischievous retort. In the spring of 1846, Lundbye and the Raffenberg's visited Meyer in Olevano. Frederikke Raffenberg, a dilettante in the art of drawing, sat down next to Meyer to draw. Meyer's good advice to Mrs Frederikke was: “Hören Sie mit der Kunst auf und üben Sie in der Küche.” On the last day of January 1861, Meyer had breakfast at Caffé Greco. Here he collapsed after a stroke. At home, friends watched over him until he died the following morning. In torchlight and attended by 300 friends, Ernst Meyer was laid to rest in the Mosaic Cemetery in Rome.” (p. 40).

It is almost impossible to understand that this friendly and good-natured-looking gentleman is the same as the very serious and self-conscious artist who portrayed himself in 1830 (see cat. no. 102).