Peter Kornbeck

Peter Kornbeck was a Danish architectural painter from Copenhagen. The son of a master mason, he was apprenticed before attending the Technical Institute for initial training as an architect. At the same time, he worked for the Danish architect Harald Conrad Stilling. He entered the Academy of Fine Arts and was taught by the architectural painter Heinrich Hansen, who had a lasting influence on him.

Like many of his compatriots, the artist set off to seek the light on the shores of the Mediterranean and went to Italy in 1860. He stayed there for almost six years and painted views of Verona, Milan, Venice, Sienna, Rome and Palermo. Castles, churches, ruins and places steeped in history were his favourite subjects, which he sold there and in Denmark.

Back in his native country, thanks to a scholarship from the Academy obtained in 1885, Kornbeck continued to travel to Switzerland, Dalmatia, the Danube plains, always looking for inspiration, but usually preferring outdoor subjects. In 1887, he went to Egypt, which inspired him to paint many views of Pharaonic, Coptic and Muslim sites and monuments.

In 1868, on his wedding day, Kornbeck accidentally lost the sight in one eye, but this did not seem to affect his work for long. His many carefully executed and luminous works were much sought after during his lifetime. He continued to live and paint in Denmark until his death in 1894.