Art History in Vejle

Together, the many significant paintings included in the major classic auction in Vejle this spring present a highly varied and complex view of Danish art in the years from 1880 to 1885 – a period which historians of art would consider neither insignificant nor incidental. These were the years in which the breakthrough of Modernism truly made itself felt in the art of painting. In the years leading up to the breakthrough of Modernism, however, the ambiance of French Realism gradually reached Denmark, and the incipient changes are clearly felt in the works of Danish artists from this period. Colours and light are rendered more natural and life-like and, upon closer inspection, the brushwork as well is marked by a lighter hand and a less constrained mind. Also the motifs show signs of a more personal approach to art, since artists begin to paint scenes from situations in everyday life and major events in their own family life.

Michael Ancher

Michael Ancher is one of the painters whose works from this period are characterised by the new idiom, but still clearly influenced by the preceding era’s proud traditions of figural painting. It is not insignificant that Ancher experienced a major change in his personal life in the middle of the artistic upheaval around him. In 1880 he married Anna Brøndum, and three years later, in 1883, their daughter Helga was born. Ancher preferred figural painting, and at Skagen he found a wealth of motifs in the proud fishermen and lifeboat crews that often risked their lives in the rough seas. As other artists, headed by Krøyer, became aware of Skagen and turned up in great numbers, Ancher was initially much annoyed at what he considered an invasion of his territory and his motifs. The birth of Helga, however, seems to have afforded him greater peace of mind and allowed him to find not only new motifs, but also new possibilities in his old figures. The impressive painting from 1885, “Father and Son”, is one of the paintings from these years in which this development is clearly visible. Here we see the strong and courageous fisherman with his net, his sou'wester and his big boots, walking hand in hand with his son who has apparently come down to the beach to greet his father. This warm-hearted painting shows an entirely different side of the fishermen and their lives, but also another side of Ancher himself. It is the result of the tradition that Ancher adopted as a student at the academy of fine arts, combined with the joy and development he experienced personally in this very period – as an artist and in his private life.

Aagaard, Brendekilde and Rasmussen

The remarkable conjunction of paintings from this period gives a good impression of Danish art at a point in time when the new style gradually gains a footing, while some artists stay true to time-honoured traditions and again others maintain small niches. C. F. Aagaard had been a pupil of C. F. Sørensen, one of the most beloved and famous painters of Danish Golden Age landscapes, and in the 1880’s he was already a very established artist. In his suite of four paintings entitled “The Four Seasons” from 1882, there is very little trace of the breakthrough of Modernism. The style as well as the motif is National Romanticist and even appears to be influenced by English and Dutch landscapes from the era of Romanticism. H. A. Brendekilde’s charming painting of two small girls in a setting of pure village idyll complete with blooming hollyhocks, on the other hand, gives the impression of an artist who has allowed himself to be influenced neither by tradition nor by new currents. Brendekilde was born in 1857 and graduated from the Academy in 1881. Albeit only few of his works are dated, there seems to be very little change in his choice of motifs throughout the years. In a category of its own, we find I.E.C. Rasmussen’s wonderful rendition of the spectacular Greenlandic light in which two umiaks and four sealers cross the Nuuk Fiord. This painting from 1886 is a truly masterly rendition of light and perspective.

A great many paintings are included in this auction that also features works by Carl Holsøe, Kristian Zahrtmann, Peder Mønsted and many others. Together, they testify to the variation and diversity in Danish art in the late 19th century.

Read more about the auction