Background
Fritz Melbye was born on 24 August 1826 in Elsinore, Denmark.
Fritz Melbye was born on 24 August 1826 in Elsinore, Denmark.
He traveled widely, painting seascapes, coastal and harbour scenes as well as some landscapes in Europe, the Caribbean, Venezuela, North America and Asia. There he met the young Camille Pissarro whom he inspired to take up painting as a full-time profession. Pissarro became his pupil as well as close friend.
In April 1852, Melbye was on Saint Croix, preparing a trip to Venezuela.
Pissarro decided to join him and they spent two years together in Caracas and the harbour city of Louisiana Guaira before Pissarro returned to Saint Thomas. Melbye stayed until 1856 and then briefly returned to Europe, living some time in Paris, before traveling to North America where he set up a studio in New York City.
He continued to travel widely, mainly to the Caribbean but also north to Newfoundland. In 1866, Melbye set off on a journey to the Far East in search of new adventures, leaving his studio in Church"s care.
In Asia he used Peking as a base for travels around the region which also took him to Japan.
He died in Shanghai three years later.