Odsherred Painters (Danish : Odsherredsmalerne) is a term applied to Danish artists from various periods with connections to Odsherred in the northwest of Zealand, Denmark. Some were born there while others settled in the area or painted there. While the term includes painters from the 19th century such as Johan Thomas Lundbye, Vilhelm Kyhn and Vilhelm Melbye, it is applied more specifically to the painters who created landscapes from 1930 to 1970 and who formed an artists' colony. They include Karl Bovin, Kaj Ejstrup, Viggo Rørup, Ellen Krause, Lauritz Hartz, Povl Christensen, Victor Brockdorff and Sigurd Swane. [1] [2]
The group of Odsherred Painters which emerged in the 1930s was the most recent of Denmark's artists' colonies, the others being the Skagen Painters, the Funen Painters and the Bornholm school of painters. [2]
The artists' colony grew up in the 1930s as a number of painters settled in the dramatic landscape in south-western Odsherred in the hilly countryside known as Vejrhøjbuen between Sejerø Bay and the now reclaimed Lammefjord. With Karl Bovin and Kaj Ejstrup as central figures, the artists rediscovered Naturalism and Figurativism at a time when Modernism was prevalent. Most of them knew each other from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. They settled in the same small area developing friendships based on common artistic ambitions. Initially they rented accommodation in old farms and cottages, often just for the summer, but later several of them purchased their own homes in the area. The group were successful in reviving Naturalism in the 1930s, partly by arranging the Corner series of exhibitions in Copenhagen. [3] [4]
The colony which started in the 1930s was led by Karl Bovin (1907-85) and Kaj Ejstrup (1902-56). Members included Lauritz Hartz (1903-87), Viggo Rørup (1903-71) and his wife Ellen Krause (1905-1990), Victor Brockdorff (19121-92), Ernst Syberg (1906-81), Povl Christensen (1909-77), Alfred Simonsen (1906-35), Ole Kielberg (1911-85), Søren Hjorth Nielsen (1901-83) and Birthe Bovin (1906-80). Bovin, Hartz and Rørup spent their entire lives in Odsherred while the others returned for shorter or longer periods each summer. They were attracted by the dramatic landscape with its steep slopes and burial mounds as well as by the rather frugal look of the countryside. It coincided with their wish as naturalists to have a constant source of inspiration for their work. [3]
The open skies, extensive fields, rolling hills and coastal flats of Odsherred became the favourite subjects of their landscapes. Initially they were known as Mørkemalerne (The Dark Painters) as a result of their sombre palette but later they used brighter, more Impressionistic tones. In Karl Bovin's words: "It's all a matter of mapping out an area, and we can also include the seasonal climate we have here in Denmark; that, the climate, has become a constant motif as it is so changeable—and so it has actually become a kind of Danish Naturalistic painting." [5] [6]
The first painting of the Odsherred landscape was completed by Johan Thomas Lundbye in 1840. Typical of Denmark's Golden Age, it presents a scene north of Bjergsø with the Vejrhøj Hill and Dragsholm Manor. [2] The Odsherred landscape has also been depicted in the works of Vilhelm Kyhn (1819-1903), who painted Rørvig, and Theodor Philipsen (1840-1920), who painted the road near Fårevejle and Vejrhøj. The hills in the west of Odsherred were painted by Carla Colsmann Mohr (1887-1974), Asta Ring Schultz (1895-1978), Ingrid Wichmann ( 1903-2006 ) and, last but not least, Ejnar Nielsen (1872-1956), who had taught several of the Odsherred Painters at the Academy and was encouraged to join them around 1940. [7]
There were also a number of artists who had connections with Vallekilde Højskole in southwest Odsherred. The school was founded by Ernst Trier in 1885, producing several generations of artists. They included Troels Trier (1879-1962) and his sons Holmer (1916-1999) and Ernst (1920-1979). Paul Nyhuus (1910-1970) also had connections with the school. Others included Aksel Møller (1909-1994) who moved to Odsherred in 1944, Helge Ernst (1916-1990), who spent many summers in Odsherred, and the sculptors Johannes Hansen (1903-1995) and Knud Nellemose (1906-1997) who returned to the area every summer. The artists Poul S. Nielsen (1920-1998), Julius Wederkinch (1919-1992) and Johannes Carstensen (1924-2010) lived in the west of Odsherred in the hills, painting the local landscape. Anders Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (1892-1967) painted scenes of summer life and bathing girls in Odsherred. From 1960, Lars Sylvest Jakobsen (1909-2005) lived and painted in Nykøbing while Jørgen Brynjolf (1931-1993) and Ole Finding (born 1937) discovered new motifs in Odsherred. [7]
Anna Ancher was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artist colony on the northern point of Jylland, Denmark. She is considered to be one of Denmark's greatest visual artists.
Peter Vilhelm Carl Kyhn was a Danish landscape painter who belonged to the generation of national romantic painters immediately after the Danish Golden Age and before the Modern Breakthrough. Even though he outlived many of his artistic peers by several decades, he remained a traditionalist and expressed strong criticism of many of the new trends in the painting of his day.
Peter Christian Thamsen Skovgaard was a Danish national romantic landscape painter. He is one of the main figures associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He is especially known for his large scale portrayals of the Danish landscape.
The Corner painters in Denmark first came together in 1932 when they decided to hold an exhibition in a meeting hall inside an office building on the corner of Vester Voldgade and Studiestræde in the centre of Copenhagen. The group was soon referred to simply as Corner.
Lauritz Berg Hartz was a Danish artist, considered to be one of the country's finest colourists.
Karl (Kalle) Christian Bovin (1907–1985) was a Danish painter whose work focused on landscapes of Odsherred, a region in the north-west of Zealand. In the 1930s, he became a central member in the Odsherred Painters artists' colony and helped to found the Corner artists association.
Laurits Regner Tuxen CVO was a Danish painter and sculptor specialising in figure painting. He was also associated with the Skagen Painters. He was the first head of Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler, an art school established in the 1880s to provide an alternative to the education offered by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
The Skagen Painters were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scenic nature, local milieu and social community attracted northern artists to paint en plein air, emulating the French Impressionists—though members of the Skagen colony were also influenced by Realist movements such as the Barbizon school. They broke away from the rather rigid traditions of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, espousing the latest trends that they had learned in Paris. Among the group were Anna and Michael Ancher, Peder Severin Krøyer, Holger Drachmann, Karl Madsen, Laurits Tuxen, Marie Krøyer, Carl Locher, Viggo Johansen and Thorvald Niss from Denmark, Oscar Björck and Johan Krouthén from Sweden, and Christian Krohg and Eilif Peterssen from Norway. The group gathered together regularly at the Brøndums Hotel.
Carl Johan Wilhelm Madsen, commonly known as Karl Madsen, was a Danish painter and art historian with close connections to the Skagen Painters.
Randers Museum of Art is a Danish art museum in Randers in northeastern Jutland, Denmark. The museum is located in the cultural centre of Kulturhuset in the town centre and displays many of the major works of Danish painters, especially those of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Kaj Ejstrup was a Danish artist, illustrator and sculptor. Above all, he is remembered for the landscapes he painted in the north west of Zealand as a member of the artists' colony known as the Odsherred Painters. In 1932, he was one of the founding members of the Corner artists association. Much of his work can be seen at Odsherreds Museum of Art.
Viggo Julius Rørup was a Danish artist who in the early 1930s joined the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters.
Ellen Margrethe Krause Rørup was a Danish artist who, after marrying Viggo Rørup in 1937, became a member of the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters.
Povl Christensen was a Danish painter and illustrator who, in the early 1930s, joined the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters. He is however primarily remembered as a highly proficient graphic artist, not only for his woodcuts and engravings but for his contributions to overall book design.
Arthur Victor Schack von Brockdorff, generally known as Victor Brockdorff, was a Danish painter who joined the artists' colony known as the Odsherred Painters in Northwestern Zealand in the early 1930s. He was a cofounder of the Corner Artists' Association.
Ernst Axel Syberg was a Danish painter who in the early 1930s associated with the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters. From 1934, he was a member of Corner where he exhibited his work.
Alfred Simonsen was a Danish painter who in the early 1930s became associated with the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters. When he died at the early age of 27, he had only completed about 30 paintings and a few sketches.
Ole Beck Kielberg was a Danish painter. In the early 1930s, he joined the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters. He is remembered above all for his landscapes of the countryside in the north of Zealand
Berthe (Birthe) Marie Marensine Bovin was a self-taught Danish painter who joined the artists' colony in northwestern Zealand known as the Odsherred Painters.
Georg Nicolai Achen was a Danish painter. One of the more accomplished Naturalists of his generation, from the 1890s he specialized in portraits.