Hieronimo Miani

Who is Hieronimo Miani?

Hieronimo Miani, also known as Hieronymus Miani, was an Italian history painter, who worked in Denmark as both a painter to the royal court of King Christian VI, and as a teacher.

He was born in Venice, Italy, and was in the service of Karl Philip Emanuel of Pfalz in Mannheim, Germany before being called to Denmark in 1739 to work for the royal court of King Christian VI.

One of the court’s biggest projects at the time was the building and decoration of Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen 1733-1745, for which Miani painted a large plafond or ceiling decoration with religious theme. The work was entitled "Uretfærdighedens og lasternes flugt for den retfærdige Guds åsyn", and was painted 1739-1740. An oil painting of the same theme is in the collection of the Danish National Gallery.

He also painted two large figure paintings from the story of Moses, as well as a painting of then Crown Prince Frederik V on horseback. These were all lost in the Christiansborg fire of 1794. An engraving based on the portrait of Frederik V still exists.

In 1740 he and French sculptor, Louis August le Clerc, took over the leadership of the newly formed Christian VI’s Art Academy, The Drawing and Painting Academy, which had been left without a leader when Hendrick Krock died in 1738, This academy would eventually become the Royal Danish Academy of Art in the mid-1750s.