Holger Drachmann

Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann (9 October 1846 – 14 January 1908) was a Danish poet, dramatist and painter. He was a member of the Skagen artistic colony and became a figure of the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough Movement. Early years Drachmann was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of Andreas Georg Drachmann (1810-1892) and Wilhelmine Marie Stæhr (1820-1857). His father was a surgeon with the Royal Danish Navy. The family belonged to the German-speaking congregation at St. Peter's Church (Sankt Petri Kirke) in Copenhagen. Owing to the early death of his mother, he was left much to his own devices and developed a fondness for semi-poetical performances, organising his companions in heroic games, in which he himself took such roles as those of Royal Danish Naval heroes Peder Tordenskjold and Niels Juel. Skagen Drachmann first visited Skagen in 1872 with the Norwegian painter Frits Thaulow. He frequently returned, associating with the growing colony of artists known as the Skagen Painters (Skagensmalerne) although his painting took second place to his writing. In 1903, he and his third wife Soffi settled in Skagen's Vesterby in their Villa Pax. Later in life, Drachmann returned to art, often painting pictures of ships and the sea.