Anders Been
Portrait by David von Krafft
Anders Been later Andreas von Behn (1650-1730), was a Norwegian painter and court dwarf in service of the Swedish queen dowager Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp.
Been was originally from Norway. He was placed in the service of the Swedish Queen Dowager, who had several court dwarfs in her household. In Sweden he was often referred to as "The Dwarf from Norway".[1] His actual tasks have been described as "somewhere between that of a valet and a barber".[1]
He was an active painter and is known to have decorated some of the cabinets at Drottningholm Palace. Eventually, Queen Dowager had him ennobled. In 1709, Been left Sweden furnished with travel funds by the queen.
References[]
Categories:
- 17th-century Norwegian painters
- 18th-century Norwegian painters
- People with dwarfism
- Swedish royal favourites
- Swedish courtiers
- 1650 births
- 1730 deaths
- Norwegian male painters
- Norwegian expatriates in Sweden