Self-Portrait c, 1833
Christen Schiellerup Købke (1810 – 1848) was a Danish painter and one of the best known artists belonging to the Golden Age of Danish Painting.
In 1838 he received a travel stipend from the Academy, left his new wife and traveled via Dresden and Munich to Italy accompanied by decorative painter Georg Hilker. They arrived in Rome by year’s end where he met his brother-in-law Frederik Christopher Krohn, sculptor and medallionist, and many other Danish artists. He traveled, along with Constantin Hansen the following summer to Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri where he painted out in the open air.
He returned home in 1840 with a large collection of sketches for later use and inspiration. Unfortunately, most of his later work with these Italian themes was uninspired, and they found little favor. Købke even considered at the time becoming a decorator, having participated in 1844-1845 in the decoration of the Thorvaldsens Museum, a museum dedicated to the artistic works of Bertel Thorvaldsen.
Adonis 