Michael Dahl

{{Short description|Swedish painter (1659–1743)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox artist | bgcolour = | name = Michael Dahl | image = Michael_Dahl_self-portr.jpg | caption = Self-portrait, 1691 | birth_date = 1656 or 1659 | birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden | death_date = 20 October 1743 (aged 84 or 87) | death_place = London, England | nationality =  | field = Portrait painting | movement = Baroque | works = Portraits of Sir John Pole,<ref>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/sir-john-pole-164917071708-3rd-bt-mp-99058 ''Portrait of Sir John Pole by Michael Dahl''], {{Art UK bio|nocount=true}}, 12 April 2012</ref> Anne, Queen of Great Britain and her husband Prince George of Denmark }}

'''Michael Dahl''' (1656/1659 – 20 October 1743) was a Swedish painter who specialised in portrait painting and spent most of his career in England. He was one of the most internationally known Swedish painters of his time. Dahl painted portraits of aristocracy and royalty such as Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Prince George of Denmark and the exiled Christina, Queen of Sweden.

== Childhood == Michael Dahl was born in Stockholm, in 1656 or 1659: most of the sources point to 1659.<ref name="NE">[http://www.ne.se/michael-dahl Nationalencyklopedin] 12 March 2012 (Swedish)</ref><ref name="Runeberg">[https://runeberg.org/nfbe/0581.html Projekt Runeberg] 12 March 2012 (Swedish)</ref><ref name= "Page 2">Wilhelm Nisser, ''Michael Dahl and the Contemporary Swedish School of Painting in England'' (Almqvist & Wiksell) 1927:2.</ref> His mother, Catarina Dahl, is assumed to have made many silent sacrifices to give Michael the opportunity of a good education, so that his talent was not to be wasted.<ref name="Page 3">Nisser, 1927:3</ref> According to letters written by Michael from Rome to his mother back in Sweden, she had raised him and his sister in an old-fashioned way and in the spirit of Christianity.<ref name="Page 3"/>

== First studies == thumb|upright|Michael Dahl – portrait of an unknown man

At the age of at least 15 years, Dahl had to decide where he was going to study art, though the only options in Sweden at the time were an apprenticeship in the Painters' Guild or joining the Martin Hannibal and David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl group.<ref name="Page 6">Nisser 1927:6.</ref>

Dahl received his first lessons in art in 1674 from the Hungarian-born drawing-master Martin Hannibal, who had been requested to come to Sweden from Italy by the prominent Swedish painter David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl to aid him in the foundation of a portrait academy and to teach students and amateurs the first elements of painting.<ref name="Page 4">Nisser 1927:4.</ref> The Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl group consisted of a handful of students who were taught by Martin Hannibal and David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. Since there were two teachers, the group was divided. The students were first under the leadership of Hannibal to learn the basics of painting, and if they showed skill, they had the chance of being picked out to continue their study with Ehrenstrahl.<ref name="Page 6"/> This would suggest that Ehrenstrahl was a better painter than Hannibal, whose talent is not easily assessed as none of his work has been identified.<ref name="Page 4"/>

The only competition of the same league as the Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl group, was Martin Mijtens the Elder, who did not settle in Stockholm until 1681 and was therefore not an option for Dahl in the mid-seventies. The Painters' Guild was not an option for Dahl either, due to its lack of contemporary well-known artists as members.<ref name="Page 6"/> Thus Dahl started to study in the Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl group in 1674. Though it is not fully confirmed, there are assumptions that the teaching Dahl received from Hannibal was finished before they ever had permission from the authorities in Sweden to open a portrait academy.<ref name="Page 4"/> After his time with Hannibal, Dahl was one of the students who were allowed to continue with Ehrenstrahl as the teacher. From this it is possible to tell that Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl were pleased with Dahl as a student.<ref name="Page 4"/> In the group there were mainly students of German origin and the ones contemporary with Dahl were Ludvig Weyandt, David von Krafft, David Richter the Elder, Hans Georg Mϋller, Andreas von Behn and Erik Utterhielm.<ref name="Page 7">Nisser 1927:7.</ref>

== Travels ==

On 30 July 1682, Dahl was issued a passport to be able to travel throughout Europe for the sake of his studies.<ref name="Page 8">Nisser 1927:8.</ref> His first destination on this educational journey was London.<ref name="NE"/> He was brought there by an English merchant called Sowter, though his name may vary. It is probable that it was through this man that Dahl came in contact with the skilled engraver and painter Robert White.<ref name="Page 8"/> The earliest trace of Dahl's activity in England is a portrait of Samuel Clarke, which he copied from White's engraving the same year as it was made.<ref name="Page 8"/> White took Dahl under his wing in the world of painting in London. As a token of gratitude, Dahl aided White with valuable ideas when it came to engraving a portrait of the king of Sweden, Charles XI, employing his familiarity with the royal paintings Dahl had observed in the studio of Ehrenstrahl. White helped Dahl expand his network in London and he soon came in contact with the man who is probably responsible for the greatest impact on his development, Godfrey Kneller.<ref name="Page 8"/>

[[File:George, Prince of Denmark by Michael Dahl.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Anne's consort, Prince George of Denmark, painted by Dahl in 1705]]

Kneller showed Dahl what the public really wanted from artists, and how they were going to get paid for their work.<ref name="Page 9">Nisser 1927:9.</ref> His studio was factory-like compared with Ehrenstrahl's, which Dahl's biographer Wilhelm Nisser terms "Ehrenstrahl's monopoly of glorifying Swedish Royalty".<ref name="Page 9"/> In Kneller's studio, Dahl both studied and made a living and there he became acquainted with Henry Tilson. Tilson was from a highly respected family and had earlier studied under the Court portrait painter Sir Peter Lely. He was considered one of the most promising painters of Lely's pupils.<ref name="Page 9"/> Dahl and Tilson started to plan a journey around Europe to expand their studies. They were to go to Paris, Venice and Rome.<ref name="Page 10">Nisser 1927:10.</ref>

===Paris and Rome===

Lack of documentation makes it impossible to determine when Dahl and Henry Tilson left for Paris, but it is known that they were still working in Paris in April 1685.<ref name="Page 10"/> Paris at that time was a common objective for Swedish travelers. Dahl came in contact with the engraver Raimund Faltz and the Swedish soldier Carl Johan Königsmarck, who had his portrait painted by Dahl.<ref name="Page 10"/> Like many of the younger generation of French painters, Dahl and Tilson decided to continue on to Venice<ref name="Page 10"/> then Rome.<ref name="Page 11">Nisser 1927:11.</ref> At that time, the Swedish queen Christina, who had abdicated to convert to Roman Catholicism, was living in Rome. She still had a strong bond to Sweden and its people and was helpful when it came to assisting Swedish artists in the city. Therefore, the first thing Dahl did upon his arrival was to seek an audience with her.<ref name="Page 11"/> He was able to get the audience, but Christina was only a link to the higher powers in the city, such as the Pope, so to get the assistance Dahl needed from Christina, Dahl had to convert to the Roman Catholic Church as she had done. After some persuasion he eventually did, but the promises which were undoubtedly made to him were not withheld. At several occasions, Christina let Dahl paint her portrait and she was able to establish an opportunity for Dahl to show a specimen of his work to Pope Innocent XI. The Pope was impressed and awarded Dahl a gold medal.<ref name="Page 12">Nisser 1927:12.</ref> Dahl was not the only artist Christina was able to convert. David Richter the Elder who Dahl had studied with at Ehrenstrahl's, was converted when he visited Rome a few years earlier, in 1679.<ref name="Page 11"/>

thumb|upright|Dahl, ''Portrait of a Lady''

Dahl had now been travelling for over five years, and his purse was getting thin. On 6 October 1687 he wrote a letter to his mother; in it he expresses his strong desire to return home, but that the conditions in Sweden are too poor due to the Swedish Resumption/Patents act, which restricted all possibilities of a career in Sweden for Dahl.<ref>Nissen 1927: 9, 12.</ref> Christina seems to have given her consent, as a passport for a journey Rome–London was issued on 29 October to Henry Tilson, just over three weeks after Dahl wrote the letter to his mother.<ref name="Page 13">Nisser 1927:13f.</ref><ref name="Page 14">Nisser 1927:14.</ref> In November the same year two other Swedish painters, Burchardt Precht and Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, came to study in Rome and they do not appear to have been in any contact with Dahl or Tilson, so presumably the two young painters left immediately after the passport had been issued.<ref name="Page 14"/>

==Back in England== [[File:James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos by Michael Dahl.jpg|thumb|upright|''Portrait of James Brydges, Duke of Chandos'' ({{circa|1719}})]]

After the departure from Rome, the two painters were to be found briefly in Frankfurt in July 1688; there Dahl met the young Swedish nobleman Claes Ekeblad of Stola who paid him a ducat to paint for him for three weeks. In his diary he refers to Dahl as a "famous painter of Swedish extraction".<ref name="Page 14"/> This suggests that Dahl's reputation had greatly increased by his successes in Rome and that the journey was far from wasted both in the aspect of fame and in the aspect of study.

In March 1689 Dahl and Tilson were back in London, and Dahl started to work on living up to his new reputation. He quickly became friends with the poet Christoffer Leijoncrona who was Secretary of the Swedish Legation.<ref name="Page 14"/> For Dahl, Leijoncrona was a very helpful ally when it came to keeping in touch with his native country.<ref>Nisser 1927: 14, 20.</ref> Dahl adapted to his new life and after three years in London he had transformed into a young London dandy, who paid his attentions to a certain Mlle. Fanchou, though she was not the woman he was to marry.<ref>Nisser 1927:14, 16.</ref> In 1696, thanks to Leijoncrona, he was able to settle in the neighborhood of the Swedish Legation in the fashionable quarter of Leicester Field (now ''Leicester Square'').<ref>Nisser 1927:16.</ref> Leijoncrona also helped Dahl to win fame back in Sweden, and two years after he settled in London, on 5 October 1698, the well-known metallurgist Erik Odhelius writes in a letter: ''"Courteous greetings to Mr Dahl, whose renown daily increases here."''<ref>Nisser 1927:20.</ref>

Dahl kept advancing in reputation, and in 1696 he painted the portrait of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset who found him to his liking even though the Duke was known for being a very despotic and difficult man to handle.<ref name="Page 24">Nisser 1927:24.</ref> The Duke continued to hire Dahl and for over 20 years he painted members of the Duke's family.<ref name="Page 24"/> In 1705 he got the chance of painting several versions of the portrait of Prince George of Denmark.<ref>[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/prince-george-of-denmark-16531708-77390 ''Art UK''], ''Portrait of Prince George of Denmark'' by Michael Dahl, 12 April 2012;[https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/prince-george-of-denmark-16531708-99875 ''Art UK''], ''Portrait of Prince George of Denmark'' by Michael Dahl, 12 April 2012</ref> It was undoubtedly through the Prince that he came into the circles around Queen Anne, whose portrait he also painted.<ref name="Page 24"/>

In 1705 Dahl married a young English girl whose name has still not been recovered.<ref name="Page 27">Nisser 1927:27.</ref> Together they had a son, Michael, and two daughters, Dorothy and Catherine.<ref name="Page 17">Nisser 1927:17.</ref> The family was very respected by art-interested people in the neighborhood and lived a pleasant life there until 1725, when they moved to Beak Street, which today is at the south end of Carnaby Street.<ref name="Page 17"/> When Sir Godfrey Kneller died in 1723, George I needed to find a new court painter and he was looking in Dahl's direction. This, however, was quickly aborted when Dahl refused to paint the portrait of the Duke of Cumberland, who was only two. Dahl had taken the request as somewhat a disgrace of his talent according to what Lord Egmont wrote in his diary about the incident:

''"He refused to draw the Duke of Cumberland, when two years old, desiring the lord who went down to ask it to tell His Majesty that not having had the honour of painting him or his royal consort he was unwilling to begin with a child."''<ref name="Page 26">Nisser 1927:26.</ref> King George was furious at this reply, and it ruined all Dahl's opportunities of being knighted.<ref name="Page 26"/>

Michael Dahl died in London on 20 October 1743 and was buried a week later in St James's Church, Piccadilly.<ref name="Page 27"/>

== References == {{reflist|20em}}

==External links== {{Commons-inline}} {{Authority control (arts)|country=SV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dahl, Michael}} Category:1650s births Category:Year of birth uncertain Category:17th-century Swedish painters Category:Swedish male painters Category:18th-century Swedish painters Category:18th-century Swedish male artists Category:1743 deaths Category:Swedish portrait painters Category:Painters from Stockholm Category:Swedish emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:Immigrants to the Kingdom of England Category:Artists from London