Danish-German painter and printmaker, neoclassical style – Asmus Jacob Carstens (1754 – 1798)

Born May 10, 1754 in St. Jurgen in Schleswig, Denmark, Asmus Jacob Carstens or Asmus Carstens was a Danish-German, ‘neoclassical’ painter and draughtsman. At the age of twenty-two, in the year 1776, he began studying at the Copenhagen Academy. Here he made his first painting, “The Death of Aeschylus”. To continue his studies in Arts, in 1783 he moved to Italy, where the works of Giulio Romano captivated and influenced him intensely. He also wanted to visit Rome, but a shortage of funds restricted his trip to Mantua only.

Eventually the artist settled in Lubeck, Germany, as a portrait painter. Asmus’ famous creation, “fall of the angels”, features more than 200 figures. This competent painting earned him a teaching position at the reputed Berlin Academy, where he joined in 1788. The artist was famous and admired among his students, including Bertel Thorvaldsen and Joseph Anton Koch. Inspirations from him contributed greatly to ‘German Historical Paintings’ such as “Home Singing”. After four years of teaching at the Berlin Academy, Asmus resigned, as he had the opportunity to travel to the destination of his dreams, Rome.

After a decade of savings from his earnings and with some concerted financial help, the artist managed to go to Rome in 1792, where he remained until his death. Here he exhibited his work in 1795. his devotion to his art and his ‘neo-classicism’ impressed several renowned international artists. To his delight, Carstens spent his last and most productive years of the eighteenth century in Rome. Dynamic brushstrokes in well-delineated, classically elegant forms and structures characterized Carstens’ “thematic” and “historical” works. His paintings were generally inspired by Homer, Pindar, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Shakespeare and Ossian. The “Plato Symposium” and the “Battle of Rossbach” are his magnum opus. One of his best pieces, “Megapont”, was compared to the creations of legendary artists such as Raphael and Michelangelo. In 1795 a large individual exhibition of his works was held in Rome.

Carstens also founded the School of German Historical Paintings. He died at the young age of forty-four on May 25, 1798 in Rome. Karl Ludwig Fernow, who had known Asmus Carstens since childhood, became good friends with him during his stay in Rome. Fernow has beautifully captured and documented the artist’s life journey.