Niels Schønberg Kurtzhals

Niels Schønberg Kurtzhals (25 June 1772 - 4 June 1829) was a Danish architect and master builder who contributed to the rebuilding of Copenhagen after the Copenhagen Fire of 1795.

Biography

Kurtzhals was born in Copenhagen on 25 June 1772 the son of master mason Asman/Asmond Kurtzhals and Erika Elisa Schønberg. He completed a mason's apprenticeship under court mason Johan Heinrich Brandemann and was then admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where he won the small silver medal in 1789 and the large silver medal in 1789. He unsuccessfully competed for the Academy's gold medal in 1793 and 1891,

Career

Schønberg Kurtzhals was established as a master mason in 1796 and profited form the enormous need for construction services that had followed from the extensive destruction caused by the Great Fire of 1795 the previous year. He also worked for Christian Frederik Hansen on the rebuilding of Church of Our Lady.

He eventually became an alderman of the Mason's Guild in Copenhagen. He was also a captain in the Fire Brigade and acted as valuer for Copenhagen Fire Insurance Fund.[1]

Personal life

Schønberg Kurtzhals was a friend of Bertel Thorvaldsen during his student years at the Academy.

His sister Sophie Amalie Kurtzhals and Thorvladsen were sweethearts before he left for Tome in 1796. On his departure, he gave her an allegorical drawing titled Time Rewards Virtue but she eventually got tired waiting and married the master mason Johann Joachim Schlage.[2]

Schønberg Kurtzhals married Cathrine Elisabeth Kurtzhals.

Selected buildings

References
  1. "Niels Schønberg Kurtzhals". gravsted (in Danish). Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  2. "Sophie Amalie Kurtzhals" (in Danish). Thorvaldsen Arkivet. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.