RØRBYE, Martinus
(b. 1803, Drammen, d. 1848, København)

The Prison of Copenhagen

1831
Oil on canvas, 48 x 63 cm
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

During the years at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Rørbye did large numbers of drawn landscapes and views of Copenhagen and its environs, as well as paintings showing scenes of street life in the Danish capital. The works, which proved very popular with buyers, were characterised by their panoply of familiar types drawn from everyday life and by their moralising allusions, making them something other than simple snapshots of life.