Elias Brenner

Portrait of Carl Breitholtz till Margreteholm by Elias Brenner, 1684

Elias Brenner (April 18, 1647 – January 16, 1717), was a Finnish painter, numismatist, and archeologist.

Brenner was born in Isokyrö, and at the age of 17 was studying archeology where he later became involved in the antiquities trade. Brenner's study of antiquities led him to create art himself, and he worked as a portrait miniature painter and numismatist. In 1690 he married the Swedish writer, poet, and hostess Sophia Elisabet Brenner. He died in Stockholm in 1717.

In 1691 his great work on Swedish coins Thesaurus nummorum Sveo-Gothicorum was printed. In the following year on a limited scale it began to be spread by the government as a gift to dignitaries and professionals. Its reception was very good and the book was mentioned with praise in foreign press. Brenner was appointed an extraordinary member of the Swedish Antiquities College in 1692 and received a considerable annual subsidy for his job of "further elaboration and perfection". The following year he was appointed Assessor there with a government salary. A new amended edition of Thesaurus was issued fourteen years after Brenner's death by Nils Piping. The number of images had then increased from 431 to 574, and histories of Swedish coin collectors and their collections had been added.

References

• Information above came in part from a partial English translation of Norway Wikipedia Article for Elias Brenner