Johann Friderich Clemens

Johan Frederik Clemens (November 29, 1749 – November 5, 1831) was a Pomeranian-Danish printmaker in etching.

Clemens was born in Gollnow (now Goleniów) near Stettin (now Szczecin) in Pomerania, to a poor Saxon weaver, Johan David Clemens, and his wife Anna Francken. The father, along with his son Johan, moved to Copenhagen when the boy was still quite young.

He sought to begin his training at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) already in 1760 at the age of 11. He enrolled for training, but was rejected by Drawing Master Hans Clio as being too young and little. Sculptor Simon Carl Stanley took an interest in the child, and with his help Johan came into the School of Drawing in 1761. He trained both as a decorative painter, and as a craftsman painter.

In 1764 at the age of 15 Clemens was in training under an alcoholic painting master, where he was put to work with simple decorations work. When he became a painting apprentice he came into training at Johan Edvard Mandelberg's studio. Mandelberg used many talented apprentices to carry out his numerous projects. It was here that Clemens came to know Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard, Frederik Ludvig Bradt, Johannes Samuel Lymann and other talented young talents from the Art Academy, some of whom would achieve great fame and position in the years to come.

In 1765 he had already won both the Academy's small and large silver medallions. Jacques Saly, the Academy's Director, advised the boy to become a sculptor, but he was interested in becoming a copperplate etcher. He was recommended to train under Johan Martin Preisler, but Preisler showed no interest in him until Clemens made a print based on an etching by Jean Daullé. Impressed by this work, Preisler became Clemens' devoted friend and protector. Clemens trained under Preisler between ca. 1769–1770.

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