Peter ILSTED ✿

Peter Wilhelm Ilsted (1861-1933) was a Danish printmaker and painter. He was most associated with domestic interior scenes. He was born at Sakskøbing in Guldborgsund, Denmark. He was the son of merchant Jens Peter Ilsted and Johanne Sophie Lund. He was the brother-in-law of painter Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916). He married Ingeborg Lovisa Petersen (1869–1945) in 1891.

He came to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1878, completing his course of study in five years. He made his debut at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1883. Two years later, he joined a study trip across Italy to Egypt, Palestine, Greece and Turkey. Later he visited Scotland, England, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Morocco and France.

With support from the Cultural Ministry, he traveled to the Exposition Universelle (1889) in Paris. He was awarded the Eckersberg Medal in 1890 and 1899. He became an assistant at the Royal Danish Academy from 1893–1905 and worked periodically as a conservator-restorer. Ilsted died in Copenhagen during 1933.

Peter Ilsted was a great success in his lifetime and won many awards and accolades for his work. He was the only member of the group to also focus on printmaking. Ilsted’s achievements in mezzotints were revolutionary. Some of his mezzotints, most of which were created in black as well as color editions, are considered among the greatest ever made.