To hyrder

1810–1813 · Virkested

Paris

1811–1812

Studies under Jacques-Louis David in Paris

He improves his skill in painting the human form and follows his teacher's admonition to paint after Nature and the Antique in order to find Truth.

1811–1812

Lifelong friends: Møller and Clemens

In Paris he forms a lifelong friendship with his roommate, the fellow artist Jens Peter Møller, and with the engraver Johan Frederik Clemens, a collaborator of Jens Juel.

1813

Travels to Rome via Florence

After two years in Paris he travels on via Florence to Rome to continue his studies.

1813–1816

Three years in Rome among artists

He works on his skills as a history painter and enjoys painting small studies of local life and the surroundings; he lives among a large group of artists whose cultural head is Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bright southern light affects him deeply, and in these years he produces a large body of work, including a number of exceptional landscape studies.

1813–1816

Friendship with Bertel Thorvaldsen

Eckersberg and Thorvaldsen develop a close, lasting relationship: the master serves the younger man as both a loyal friend and an adviser. In 1816 Thorvaldsen models a bust of Eckersberg.