Page "Michael Dahl" Paragraph 12

In Italy they first went to the city of the lagoons, Venice.

It is unknown how long they stayed there but it can't have been long due to their arrival in Rome already the same year.

At that time, the Swedish queen Christina was living in Rome.

She had abdicated from the throne of Sweden and converted over to the Roman Catholic Church.

Even though she was not queen anymore, she still had a strong bond to Sweden and its people and was helpful when it came to assisting Swedish artists in the city.

Therefor the first thing Dahl did upon his arrival in Rome was to seek an audience with her.

He was able to get the audience, but Christina was only a link to the higher powers in the city, such as the Pope, so to get the assistance Dahl needed from Christina he had to convert to the Roman Catholic Church as she had done.

After some persuasion he eventually did, but the promises which were undoubtedly made to him were not withheld.

At several occasions, Christina let Dahl paint her portrait and she was able to establish an opportunity for Dahl to show a specimen of his work to Pope Innocent XI.

The Pope enjoyed it, and Dahl was awarded a gold medal.

Dahl was not the only artist Christina was able to convert.

David Richter the Elder who Dahl had studied with at Ehrenstrahl's, was converted when he visited Rome a few years earlier, in 1679.