Early Life, Family and Training Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on July 17, 1823, Julius Hellesen entered a world that would eventually shape his eye for the natural landscape. He was the son of Anna Dorothea Dons and Niels Conrad Hellesen, a customs assistant. From a young age, the inclinations of his spirit seemed to lean toward the visual arts, leading him toward the formal structures of artistic education in his home city. His path through the Academy of Fine Arts began early, as he first visited the institution in 1836. This period of study was marked by a steady progression of skill and…