# Benjamin Patersen > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Benjamin_Patersen > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Benjamin_Patersen.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Patersen > Source revision: 1333984255 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Russian painter}} [[File:Poshtmarko de Rusio de 2001 2-rubla Benjamin Patersen Anglijskaja naberejhnaja u Senata.png|thumb|275px|Russian postage stamp with Patersen's view of the [English Embankment](/source/English_Embankment).]] '''Benjamin Patersen''', or '''Patersson''' (Russian: Бенжамен Патерсен; 2 September 1748/50, in [Varberg](/source/Varberg) 1815, in [Saint Petersburg](/source/Saint_Petersburg)), was a [Swedish](/source/Sweden)-born [Russia](/source/Russia)n painter and engraver known primarily for his [cityscape](/source/cityscape)s.{{sfn|Komelova|1984}}{{sfn|Bengt|2010}} ==Biography== Benjamin Patersen was born in [Varberg](/source/Varberg) to a family of customs clerks.{{sfn|Brook|Iovleva|1998|p=182}} Little is known of his early years and childhood. He studied art in [Gothenburg](/source/Gothenburg) from [Simon Fick](/source/%3Asv%3ASimon_Fick) and soon became a member of the Local Art Society. In the late 1770s he travelled to [Poland](/source/Poland), [Latvia](/source/Latvia) and [Lithuania](/source/Lithuania). From 1774 to 1786, he resided and worked in [Riga](/source/Riga).{{sfn|Komelova|1984}} In 1787, Patersen came to St Petersburg. According to his advertisement, given in the ‘[Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti](/source/Sankt-Peterburgskie_Vedomosti)’ newspaper on the 22 of January, 1787, he stayed in house No. 154 near the [Blue Bridge](/source/Blue_Bridge_(Saint_Petersburg)). Patersen got married in 1791 and baptized his daughter in 1795 in the [Church of Saint Catherine](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_of_Saint_Catherine).{{sfn|Bengt|2010}} He never lost touch with Sweden. It is known that he visited the country in 1806. Since 1790, he sent his works to the annual exhibitions at the [Royal Swedish Academy of Arts](/source/Royal_Swedish_Academy_of_Arts), in 1798, he was named its member.{{sfn|Bengt|2010}} In the mid-1790s, Patersen was given the first contract by the [Royal Court](/source/House_of_Romanov). Soon, he was appointed to a court painter position.{{sfn|Bengt|2010}} == Art and legacy == Though he began as a portraitist, at the age of 38 Patersen concentrated on cityscapes and, after moving to St Petersburg, devoted his art to that city. Around 1800, on a commission by Tsar [Paul I](/source/Paul_I_of_Russia), Patersen created a series of works depicting the banks of the [Neva](/source/Neva), which earned him an appointment as [court painter](/source/court_painter).{{sfn|Bengt|2010}} Most of his cityscapes feature the defined horizon line. The sky and waters of the Neva often play significant roles in the composition. Patersen drew most of the prominent buildings of the late XVIII century Petersburg, including the [St. Michael's Castle](/source/St._Michael's_Castle), the [Imperial Academy of Arts](/source/Imperial_Academy_of_Arts), the [Tauride Palace](/source/Tauride_Palace), etc.{{sfn|Komelova|1984}} Patersen created over 100 of Petersburg's cityscapes; 33 in oil, the rest watercolours or tinted engravings. Collectively, they represent an irreplaceable historical record of the city as it was at that time. Most of his works are currently held by the [Hermitage](/source/Hermitage_Museum).{{sfn|Komelova|1984}}{{sfn|Konovalov|2008}} ==Selected works== File:Nevskie gate.jpg|Neva Gate,
[Peter and Paul Fortress](/source/Peter_and_Paul_Fortress) File:Blist pet.jpeg|[Senate Square](/source/Senate_Square_(Saint_Petersburg)) File:PoliceBridge1811.jpg|[Green Bridge](/source/Green_Bridge_(Saint_Petersburg)) File:Gostiny1802.jpg|[Great Gostiny Dvor](/source/Great_Gostiny_Dvor) File:Patersen View of Dvortsovaya Square from Nevsky Prospekt (oil) 1801.jpg|View of [Palace Square](/source/Palace_Square) and [Winter Palace](/source/Winter_Palace) from the beginning of [Nevsky Prospect](/source/Nevsky_Prospect) File:Paterssen View of English Embankment from Vasilyevsky Island part2 1799.jpg|The [English Embankment](/source/English_Embankment) from Vasilyevsky Island File:View of Saint Petersburg in the centenary celebration's day.jpg|View of Saint Petersburg in the centenary celebration's day ==References== {{reflist}} == Sources == *{{cite book |last=Komelova |first=G. N. |year=1984 |title=Петербург конца XVIII – начала XIX века в акварелях и гравюрах Бенжамена Патерсена |trans-title=Petersburg of the XVIII – XIX Centuries in Watercolours and Engravings by Benjamin Patersen |url=http://books.totalarch.com/node/4277 |location=Moscow |publisher= ‘Izobrazitelynoe Iskusstvo’ Publishing House |language= ru }} *{{cite book |last=Bengt |first=Jangfeldt |year=2010 |title=От варягов до Нобеля. Шведы на берегах Невы |trans-title=Since the Varangians to Nobel: the Swedes on the Banks of Neva |language= ru |url=http://www.universalinternetlibrary.ru/book/98995/chitat_knigu.shtml |location=Moscow |publisher= Lomonosov Publishing House |pages=392 |isbn=978-591678-041-3 }} *{{cite book |last1=Brook |first1=J. V. |last2=Iovleva |first2=L. I. |year=1998 |title=Государственная Третьяковская галерея: Живопись XVIII-XX веков |trans-title=The State Tretyakov Gallery: Painting of the XVIII-XX Centuries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iI8tAQAAIAAJ&q=%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD,+%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD+%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%8E%D1%80%D1%8B |language= ru |location=Moscow |publisher= Krasnaya Ploshad |isbn=5-900743-40-3 }} *{{cite book |last1=Franklin |first1=Simon |last2=Bowers |first2=Katherine |year=2017 |title=Information and Empire: Mechanisms of Communication in Russia, 1600-1854 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lao_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT281 |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=OpenBook Publishers |isbn=978-1-78374-376-6 }} *{{cite book |last=Franklin |first=Simon |year=2019 |title=The Russian Graphosphere, 1450-1850 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-r-PDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 |location=Cambridge, UK |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page= 161 |isbn=978-1-108-49257-7 }} *{{cite book |last=Konovalov |first=Eduard |year=2008 |title=Новый полный биографический словарь русских художников |trans-title=The New Complete Biographical Dictionary of Russian Artists |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LZ7LAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT377 |location=Moscow |publisher= Eksmo Publishing house |page= 378 |isbn=978-5-699-20636-0 }} ==External links== {{commons category-inline|Benjamin Patersen}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Patersen, Benjamin}} Category:18th-century births Category:1815 deaths Category:18th-century painters from the Russian Empire Category:Male painters from the Russian Empire Category:18th-century Swedish male artists Category:19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Category:Cityscape artists Category:People from Varberg Category:19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Benjamin Patersen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Patersen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Patersen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.