Danish Artist and Printmaker. The son of a poor Saxon weaver, he moved to Copenhagen, Denmark with his family as a young boy. At age 11 he enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Art but was rejected for being too young. However, Sculptor Danish sculptor Simon Carl Stanley took an interest in him and in 1761 he entered the School of Drawing where he trained both as a decorative and craftsman painter. After becoming a painting apprentice, he came into training at Johan Edvard Mandelberg's studio. By 1765 he had already won both the Academy's small and large silver medallions. Jacques Saly, the Academy's Director, advised him to become a sculptor, but he was interested in becoming a copperplate etcher. He then trained under Johan Martin Preisle from 1769 until 1770. He then went to Paris, France where he soon received wide acclaim. In 1776 he went to Geneva, Switzerland where he continued to produce prints and etchings. Two years later he returned to Copenhagen and in 1779 he became the Danish Royal Engraver. From 1787 to 1791 he worked in Berlin, Germany and from 1792 until 1795 he worked in London, England before returning to Copenhagen. Probably his most important work was his engraving "Slaget pa Reden" (The Battle of Copenhagen), created in 1801, and was based on a drawing by Christian August Lorentzen. It pictured the battle led by Admiral Horatio Nelson, part of the English attack on Copenhagen during the Napoleonic wars, which reached its high point on April 2, 1801. This engraving was very popular in its day and was a feature in many homes as a show of patriotism. In 1818 he was named professor in copperplate etching at the Academy and extraordinary professor in the School of Model Painting in 1818. During his lifetime, he created around 400 prints. He died at the age of 81