Hans Hansen (portrait painter)

When he displayed some artistic ability, he won the support of Carl Adolph von Plessen, a court chamberlain, which enabled him to enroll at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

[1] From 1793 to 1797, he travelled as an itinerant portrait painter in Jutland and Funen, then received more financial support from Plessen, allowing him to visit Hamburg and Vienna to continue his studies.

[4] He met his future wife, Jørgine Henriette Lie (born 1778),[4] while painting Constanze Mozart, widow of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was then married to the Danish diplomat, Georg Nikolaus von Nissen.

They were married in 1803 and had a son, Constantin Hansen, named after Constanze, who stood as his godparent.

[6] [7] Hansen's other portrait sitters include Eline Heger, Christian Ditlev Frederik Reventlow, Anders Sandøe Ørsted, C. A. Lorentzen, Adam Wilhelm Moltke, Andreas Hallander, Princess Vilhelmine Marie, Friederich Münter, Bolette Puggaard and King Frederick VI.