Søren Abildgaard

Søren Abildgaard

Søren Pedersen Abildgaard (18 February 1718 – 2 July 1791) was a Danish naturalist, writer and illustrator. He was born in Flekkefjord in Norway and died in Copenhagen in Denmark.

Abildgaard traveled all over Denmark, first as illustrator and painter on Jacob Langebek's (1710–1775) scientific tour up the east coast of Denmark (1754–1755), and later on his own, drawing any kind of historical monument located around the country that could help advance knowledge of the past.

He was married to Anne Margrethe Bastholm and had two sons, Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (1744–1809) and Peter Christian Abildgaard (1740–1801). He is most noted for his two works on topographical mineralogy.

Literature

• Poul Grinder-Hansen, Søren Abildgaard (1718-1791) - Fortiden på tegnebrættet, Nationalmuseet, 2011. ISBN 978-87-7602-135-1.(in Danish).