Background
Fritzsch was born on 10 June 1765 in Kiel.
Fritzsch was born on 10 June 1765 in Kiel.
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
He first worked in watercolour and gouache before turning to oil painting. Among his friends at the Academy were Bertel Thorvaldsen, the painter and engraver Heinrich Grosch and Carl Probsthayn. According to Thorvaldsen"s records, it was Fritzsch and Grosch who first endorsed him to compete for the Academy"s large gold medal.
Several times he applied for trvael scholarships.
Some sources state that he may finally have gone on a journey in 1803 but most likely he never made it abroad. During his student years, Fritzsch made many drawings of street life in Copenhagen, many of which with a satirical edge.
He also depicted the fire of Christiansborg Palace in 1794 and the Copenhagen Fire of 1795. Some of his gouaches from the fires were made into engraving by Gerhard Ludvig Lahde with whom he collaborated on a regular basis.
However, he chose to specialize in flower painting, a discipline which he dedicated the rest of his career to, and was in 1804 referred to as "the best and only painter within his field".
He was accepted as a member of the Academy in 1806 and was afforded residency at Charlottenborg in 1827.