Art and tobacco 

In 1902, Pauline and Heinrich Hirschsprung gave their vast collection of Danish nineteenth-century art to the Danish nation. A museum was built to house the collection, opening in 1911. But who were Pauline and Heinrich Hirschsprung?

Heinrich Hirschsprung’s family was of German-Jewish origin. His father, Abraham Marcus Hirschsprung, who originally came from Friedberg near Frankfurt, set up a tobacconist’s shop in the end wall of the prestigious Hotel d'Angleterre in Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen in 1826. However, it was not until his sons Bernhard (1834–1909) and Heinrich Hirschsprung (1836–1908) took over the company in 1859 that it grew into a modern enterprise specialising in the manufacture of cigars at its own factory in Tordenskjoldsgade – entirely in keeping with the ‘Wirtschaftswunder’, the process of industrialisation that transformed Copenhagen into a modern city in the 1870-80s. 

In 1864 Heinrich Hirschsprung married Pauline Jacobson (1845–1912), who was born into a wealthy and highly devout Jewish family. Pauline was an orphan, and her legal guardian refused to consent to their marriage. Heinrich was a merchant, which made him an unsuitable match for Pauline, who – according to the guardian – belonged to a more refined class. When war broke out in 1864, the guardian, a military doctor, had to go to the frontlines, and the young couple seized this opportunity to get married in his absence. The newlyweds settled on the corner of Højbro Plads, where their five children were born.  They numbered four sons: Robert Daniel (1865–89), Oscar Heinrich (1867–1945), Ivar Lykke (1868–1894) and Einar Aage (1869–1909) and a daughter, Ellen Frederikke (1870–1948). The family later moved to a larger flat in Bredgade.

Like their flock of children, the Hirschsprungs’ art collection grew steadily. They made their first purchase in 1866, and from that point on things progressed rapidly. The family began to find friends among artists and other figures on the cultural scene, and their home became a rallying point for the art and music scene. 

The portrait of the Hirschsprung family was made immediately upon Krøyer’s return from several years of study abroad. Left to right we see the sons Ivar and Aage; the patriarch of the family, Heinrich, with Oscar joining his father in perusing the sketchbook for the portraits featured in the painting; the eldest son, Robert, with the newspaper; and to the far right Pauline and their daughter, Ellen, who is the only one to look directly out at us. It was Pauline who gave this family portrait to the museum after Heinrich’s death. It was a private picture that was never intended for public display, and only much later was the painting moved from the director’s office to the exhibition rooms. It was quite typical of Hirschsprung to support artists, especially Krøyer, by giving them commissions, and he had a nose for sniffing out art in the artists’ own studios. 

In his memoirs, the writer Svend Leopold, who was among the guests invited into the Hirschsprungs’ home, offers a vivid description of life in Bredgade, where Hirschsprung would generously invite artists and other cultural figures: