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Secondary sourcePainting

Portrait of the Young Anders Celsius

An early engraved portrait showing Celsius as a young man, one of several images used to represent him.

An early likeness showing how the young Celsius was depicted in prints.

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Black-and-white engraved portrait of a young man with a powdered wig, a dark coat with buttons, and a loosely tied white cravat, seen from the shoulders up and turned slightly to the left.
Portrait of the young Anders Celsius.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white engraved portrait identified as showing the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius as a young man, wearing the clothing typical of an educated man of his time.

Why it matters

Since no single definitive portrait of Celsius survives from his lifetime, different engravings like this one shaped how later generations imagined him. Comparing portraits helps students see how an image of a historical figure can be created and spread.

Look closer

  • What details in the clothing and wig tell you this portrait was made in the 1700s style?
  • Why might there be more than one portrait claiming to show the same person?
  • What can't you learn about Celsius just from looking at his face and clothes?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Anders Celsius on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Anders Celsius sources

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A man stands laying a wreath at a grave in Old Uppsala Church during a 1944 commemorative ceremony.Photograph

Secondary source

Wreath-Laying at Anders Celsius's Grave

Axel Sagerholm · 1944

Line drawing of a long, slender thermometer with a bulb at the bottom and a graduated scale marked with letters and numbers including 150, 125, 100, 75, 50, 25, and 0 along its stem.Artifact

Primary source

Celsius Original Thermometer Illustration

Anders Celsius · 1742

A photograph of an inverted thermometer displayed as a valued historical instrument in a meteorology museum.Photograph

Secondary source

Celsius's Inverted Thermometer in the Uppsala Meteorology Museum

Uppsala-Bild · 1963

Oil painting of a man with powdered white hair in a wig, wearing a dark brown coat with gold buttons and a white cravat, against a dark background with blue-grey tones. He has a slight smile and looks toward the viewer.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of Anders Celsius

Olof Arenius · 1733

Celsius House, Former ObservatoryPhotograph

Secondary source

Celsius House, Former Observatory

Uppsala-Bild · 1964

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