Watercolor, signed and dated lower right: "I.S 1869"; handwritten "Sonne" on the reverse.
Dimensions with frame: 32x40 cm (17x25 cm)
Jørgen Valentin Sonne (Birkerød 1801–1890) was a Danish genre painter, known primarily for his battle scenes. He had planned a military career and enrolled in the Royal Danish Military Academy, but after a year he dropped out and instead began studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. At the same time, he began working in the studios of Christian David Gebauer, where he mainly produced copies of the old Dutch masters. He also painted several original works and held a small exhibition in 1818. In 1828, he received a travel grant from the Academy, which enabled him to visit Munich, where he became a student of the historical painter Peter von Cornelius. He later studied in Rome. He returned to Denmark in 1841, creating works based on his Italian studies, as well as works depicting the Danish peasantry. In 1865, thanks to a scholarship, he traveled to Italy for a year. In addition to easel painting, he designed a mural on the exterior walls of the Thorvaldsen Museum.
