[1] Born in Copenhagen, Rosenstand attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1858 and took private lessons from his teacher Wilhelm Marstrand.At the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna, he received an award for his En Campagnuol og hans Hustru.He completed a number of genre works in Italy including Ved Kirkedøren (At the Church Door, 1876), En Landsbyfrisør (A Village Hairdresser, 1878) and Forlegenhed (Embarrassment, 1880).In 1883, he returned to Denmark only to find that Realism had become the dominant trend, rendering his genre and historicist approach rather outdated.Sometimes referred to as Marstrand's last student, he nevertheless succeeded in winning the competition for decorating Copenhagen University's banqueting hall with his mural depicting students defending the capital during the 1659 Swedish assault (1889–90), and in his work showing Ludvig Holberg directing a rehearsal of Erasmus Montanus (1892).
Vilhelm Rosenstand:
Students participating in the defence of Copenhagen on the night between 10 and 11 February 1659
(1889)
