Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism

View Similar Items

Unknown - Signed Hudson River School Mountain Landscape

Jane Bloodgood-Abrams - Evocation (Hudson River School Landscape Oil Painting of Sunset, Framed)

Jane Bloodgood-Abrams - Moonrise in the Mountains (Hudson River School Style Nighttime Landscape)

Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait - Pleasant Thoughts oil painting by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait

Henry Bacon - The Beekeeper's Daughter 1881 oil painting by Henry Bacon

Unknown - Hudson River School Style Painting, Signed Brundell

John Carleton Wiggins - Walking Home in the Snow

Theodore E Pine - Figurative Landscape titled "School Time"

Virginia Granbery - Oil Landscape with Two Girls titled "Girls Waiting for Father"

Richard Law Hinsdale - A Friend of a Friend (oil painting of young boys in landscape)

William Frederick de Haas - Ocean Landscape of Sailing off the Coast

Edward B. Gay - A Day in June, Scene Eastchest, New York

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 14

Joachim Ferdinand Richardt
Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism
1868

Name: Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism
Brand: Joachim Ferdinand Richardt
Rating: 5 (38 reviews)

$5,510.49List Price

About the Item

This mid-19th-century oil painting by Danish-American artist Joachim Ferdinand Richardt (1819-1895) depicts a congregation observing a river baptism, probably in the Mississippi River. In 2009, at President Obama’s Inauguration luncheon, a panoramic view of Niagara was selected as the backdrop to his speech. It’s a breathtaking image, capturing the sublimity of the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls in all their iconic majesty. The ‘Maid-of-the-Mist’, negotiates the rapids, a mere speck within a broad expanse of water. While beyond, a colossal sheet of spray is sharply illuminated through passing clouds. It was painted by the son of a bookbinder, a humble Danish artist who travelled extensively across the United States to document its nature, buildings and civilization. Admired in his own lifetime, this unassuming adventurer produced scores of resplendent vistas but also numerous vignettes documenting everyday activities. Joachim Ferdinand Richardt was initially destined to become a carpenter but, thankfully, enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under three distinguished masters. Blessed with a skill for drawing, he was awarded medals and in 1839 began exhibiting at the prestigious Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition. In 1841, the Danish Royal Family acquired one of his works and six years later granted him a five-year stipend. Richardt trained at a time of exceptional creative output whereby Denmark was developing a clearer identity. Dubbed ‘National Romanticism’, artists were extolling their country’s natural beauty, while also celebrating humble folk life within rural environs. Stylistically, their work is somewhat comparable with German Romanticism and often featured strong, saturated colours, exacting details and a grand sense of the Divine. He first travelled to America in 1855 following an invitation from Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877), a wealthy business magnate who’d made a fortune in railroads and logistics. It’s unclear how the pair met but Vanderbilt was a worthy patron. With the Commodore’s encouragement, he established a base in New York and, during the summers, undertook various adventures. His output was astonishing, visiting scores of locations, including Niagara and numerous sights east of the Mississippi River. One can imagine his perpetual excitement - eager to undertake his next trip, clutching his sketchbook in hand. In 1859, before returning to Europe, he published a series of engravings titled ‘A Collection of Paintings of American Scenery’. A reviewer referred to them “as the result of a very long and fatiguing journey through America” and that “if the visitor, who recognizes this or that view, bears witness that he has succeeded, then he will feel that his labour has not been in vain.” He produced hundreds of detailed sketches during his first sojourn, many of which were used as the basis of his later oil paintings. Here, in this work from 1868, a community has congregated to view a river baptism. A priest stands waist-deep in water while holding the bible aloft. On his left, a young man in robes waits to be immersed and absolved of his sins. Above, the clouds are parting to reveal a bright symbolic glow. It’s a fascinating piece, capturing a rarely-painted event. It’s likely that Richardt sketched the scene during his earlier travels around the Mississippi River. Baptisms often drew substantial crowds and he’s taken great care to paint each figure. Many are dressed to the nines, with the women wearing their finest bell-shaped dresses, bonnets and shawls. The gentlemen sport a variety of hats, with the children also well-attired. Many other works by Richardt of this calibre currently hang in museums and, as such, it’s a rare discovery. In 1873, following a period in Denmark and England (where he was asked by Queen Victoria to exhibit at Windsor), he moved back to the US and settled in San Francisco. He spent his final years in Oakland, California, where he worked as a drawing teacher. Today, Richardt’s works are held in various public collections including at The Met, The White House, Denmark's Nationalmuseet, the Danish Royal Collection, and the U.S. Department of State. In 2003, over a hundred of his drawings were published in the book Danske Herregårde og Amerika. A copy of which was gifted to the First Lady, Laura Bush, during her visit to Copenhagen. Signed/dated and held within an ornate contemporary frame. Provenance: Private collection, Germany. Artist’s auction maximum: £121,272 for ‘View of Niagara Falls (1865)’, Oil on canvas, Christie’s, Important American Paintings, Drawings And Sculpture, New York, 2007 (lot 61).

Creator:
Joachim Ferdinand Richardt (1819-1895, Danish)
Creation Year:
1868
Dimensions:
Height: 29.5 in (74.93 cm)Width: 39 in (99.06 cm)
Medium:
Canvas,Oil
Movement & Style:
Hudson River School
Period:
1860-1869
Condition:
Assessed and approved by our conservator. Cleaned. Revarnished. Canvas relined. Areas of old restoration. Later stretcher.
Gallery Location:
Cheltenham, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU2328214597632

More From This Seller

View All

Early 20th-Century English School, John Lovibond & Sons, Cannon Brewery, Fulham

Located in Cheltenham, GB

This charming early 20th-century English School oil painting depicts the Cannon Brewery at North End, Fulham, owned by John Lovibond & Sons Ltd. Founded in 1867, the brewery was bui...

Category

Early 1900s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Early 20th-Century English School, John Lovibond & Sons, Cannon Brewery, Fulham, c. 1901

$2,706

David Bates, Behind The Village, Capel Curig

By David Bates b.1840

Located in Cheltenham, GB

This early 20th-century oil painting by British artist David Bates (1840-1921) depicts a rural view in Capel Curig, North Wales. Bates was an accomplished landscape painter who often...

Category

Early 1900s Victorian Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board, Canvas

David Bates b.1840
David Bates, Behind The Village, Capel Curig, 1901

$1,820

Ernst Philip De Fine Licht, Helsingborg Old Town Hall

Located in Cheltenham, GB

This charming Lowry-esque late 19th-century oil painting by Swedish artist Ernst Philip De Fine Licht (1855-1929) depicts the old town hall at Helsingborg, Sweden. De Fine Licht was ...

Category

1870s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Ernst Philip De Fine Licht
Ernst Philip De Fine Licht, Helsingborg Old Town Hall, c. 1877

$3,641

Category

Early 20th Century Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Hudson River School Style Painting, Signed Brundell

$1,200

More Ways To Browse

Mississippi River Painting

Niagara Falls Painting

Victoria Falls

Niagara Falls Oil

Royal Copenhagen Brown Bear

Railroad Bell

Impressionist Sunflower

Outdoor Island

Pink Mountain Landscape

Wine Paintings France

Barbara Flowers

English Boat Paintings

Italian Harbor Painting

Italian Harbors Paintings

Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism

View Similar Items

Joachim Ferdinand Richardt
Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism
1868

About the Item

More From This Seller

Early 1900s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Early 20th-Century English School, John Lovibond & Sons, Cannon Brewery, Fulham, c. 1901

Early 1900s Victorian Landscape Paintings

David Bates b.1840
David Bates, Behind The Village, Capel Curig, 1901

1870s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Ernst Philip De Fine Licht
Ernst Philip De Fine Licht, Helsingborg Old Town Hall, c. 1877

1880s Victorian Landscape Paintings

George William Mote
George William Mote, Near Guildford, Surrey, 1888

1890s Landscape Paintings

Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen
Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen, Travelling Family, Capri, c. 1892

1860s Victorian Landscape Paintings

William Clark Of Greenock (Attributed) Shipping Off Yarmouth & The Needles, Isle, c. 1860

You May Also Like

Late 19th Century Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Signed Hudson River School Mountain Landscape, Late 19th Century

2010s Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Jane Bloodgood-Abrams
Evocation (Hudson River School Landscape Oil Painting of Sunset, Framed), 2014

2010s Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Jane Bloodgood-Abrams
Moonrise in the Mountains (Hudson River School Style Nighttime Landscape), 2024

1850s Hudson River School Figurative Paintings

Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait
Pleasant Thoughts oil painting by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, 1859

1880s Hudson River School Figurative Paintings

Henry Bacon
The Beekeeper's Daughter 1881 oil painting by Henry Bacon, 1881

Early 20th Century Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Hudson River School Style Painting, Signed Brundell

Recently Viewed

More Ways To Browse

Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism

View Similar Items

Joachim Ferdinand RichardtJoachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism1868

About the Item

More From This Seller

Early 1900s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Early 20th-Century English School, John Lovibond & Sons, Cannon Brewery, Fulham, c. 1901

Early 1900s Victorian Landscape Paintings

David Bates b.1840David Bates, Behind The Village, Capel Curig, 1901

1870s Folk Art Figurative Paintings

Ernst Philip De Fine LichtErnst Philip De Fine Licht, Helsingborg Old Town Hall, c. 1877

1880s Victorian Landscape Paintings

George William MoteGeorge William Mote, Near Guildford, Surrey, 1888

1890s Landscape Paintings

Niels Frederik Schiøttz-JensenNiels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen, Travelling Family, Capri, c. 1892

1860s Victorian Landscape Paintings

William Clark Of Greenock (Attributed) Shipping Off Yarmouth & The Needles, Isle, c. 1860

You May Also Like

Late 19th Century Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Signed Hudson River School Mountain Landscape, Late 19th Century

2010s Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Jane Bloodgood-AbramsEvocation (Hudson River School Landscape Oil Painting of Sunset, Framed), 2014

2010s Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Jane Bloodgood-AbramsMoonrise in the Mountains (Hudson River School Style Nighttime Landscape), 2024

1850s Hudson River School Figurative Paintings

Arthur Fitzwilliam TaitPleasant Thoughts oil painting by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, 1859

1880s Hudson River School Figurative Paintings

Henry BaconThe Beekeeper's Daughter 1881 oil painting by Henry Bacon, 1881

Early 20th Century Hudson River School Landscape Paintings

Hudson River School Style Painting, Signed Brundell

Recently Viewed

More Ways To Browse

Joachim Ferdinand Richardt
Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, River Baptism
1868

David Bates b.1840
David Bates, Behind The Village, Capel Curig, 1901

Ernst Philip De Fine Licht
Ernst Philip De Fine Licht, Helsingborg Old Town Hall, c. 1877

George William Mote
George William Mote, Near Guildford, Surrey, 1888

Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen
Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen, Travelling Family, Capri, c. 1892

Jane Bloodgood-Abrams
Evocation (Hudson River School Landscape Oil Painting of Sunset, Framed), 2014

Jane Bloodgood-Abrams
Moonrise in the Mountains (Hudson River School Style Nighttime Landscape), 2024

Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait
Pleasant Thoughts oil painting by Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, 1859

Henry Bacon
The Beekeeper's Daughter 1881 oil painting by Henry Bacon, 1881