Portrait of King Christian II. of Denmark,
oil on panel, 20,5 x 15,5 cm, framed

Christian II. of Denmark was born in 1481, the son of King Johann I. and Christina of Saxony. From 1506 to 1513, he governed Norway as viceroy. Following the death of his father, the Danish and Norwegian estates elected him king in 1513. In 1515, he married Archduchess Isabella of Austria, sister to the future Emperor Charles V. Denmark’s neighbour Sweden refused to accept Christian II. as the new king, causing years of strife and eventually war. It was not until 1520 that Christian II. and his mercenary army were able to defeat the Swedish led by viceroy Sten Sture the Younger, who fell in the battle of Bogesund. On the 1st November 1520, King Christian had himself crowned king of Sweden and established a hereditary monarchy, in contravention of Swedish law. Following the so-called ‘Stockholm Massacre’, in which numerous Swedish aristocrats and clergymen were executed as heretics, Gustav Wasa led a revolt against Christian. The Danish and Norwegian nobility also rose up against the king who, in 1523, was forced to escape to the Netherlands. He was deposed and succeeded by his uncle who became King Friedrich I. The former king Christian and his wife travelled to Wittenberg, where they visited Martin Luther, received communion, and converted to Lutheranism. At Wittenberg, they stayed at the residence of Lucas Cranach the Elder. In 1524, Christian published the New Testament in Danish. During 1531/32 he attempted to reconquer Norway, without success. Having failed, he returned to Copenhagen where he was arrested by King Friedrich and imprisoned at Kalundborg Castle for the rest of his life.