Nicolai Abildgaard (1743-1809) was a Danish classicist, a versatile and talented artist. At the Academy in Copenhagen, he studied painting and in Rome, architecture and sculpture. He was a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Arts and promoted to the royal painter. In 1780, at the request of the Danish government, he had the honour to decorate a knight’s room at Christiansborg with great historical scenes. His work ( Richard III) influenced Nicolas Poussin. Abildgaad, however, is known only in Denmark, he never made a name for himself abroad, although he is an outstanding artist of the Golden Age of Danish painting.