#danish royal academy of fine arts

Thorald Brenstrup (May 25, 1812 - 1883), was a Danish landscape painter who had trained as a porcelain painter while also studying at the Academy in Copenhagen. This was the Golden Age of Danish art, as although influenced by Købke, Eckersbreg and P.C. Skovgaard, Brenstrup became a fine exponent of Danish landscape painting, whether he found his subjects in Italy or at home in the Danish woods.

Above:The Ruins of the Antique Theatre at Tusculum, Italy, 1848 - oil on paper pasted onto canvas (Statens Museum for Kunst)

Henrik Olrik (May 24, 1830 - 1890) was a Danish sculptor, decorator, designer and painter. He trained as a sculptor at the Royal Academy, made figurines, silverware, and even designed the first Danish 10 Kroner bill.

However, it was portraits of members of the Royal House, such as King Christian IX, that buttered his bread. He had excellent technique as witnessed by this genre piece:

Bruden smykkes af sin veninde, 1859 - oil on canvas (SMK)

Sigvard Hansen (May 23, 1859 - 1938) was a Danish landscape painter. He was apprenticed at Aluminia (Porcelain factory) and studied at the Academy at the same time, but never graduated.

His specialty was Danish and foreign winter landscapes which he executed with great skill and sold in copious amounts. Here I have selected an atypical canvas, which I think shows off his technical skill with figures, scenery and a typical Danish grey sky:

Above:The Harbour of Elsinore, Denmark, 1884 - oil on canvas (Shown at Charlottenborg, privately owned)

Johan Ulrik Bredsdorff (May 22, 1845–1928) was a Danish landscape painter who trained at the Academy with Villhelm Kyhn in the 1860s. He rarely painted anything other than the Danish countryside, despite trips to Switzerland and Norway.

Above:Landscape with grazing sheep, 1903 - oil on canvas (Privately owned)

Mogens Valeur (May 20, 1927 - 2000) was a Danish late-Modernist painter. He loved clear, clean colors and used color fields in his semi-figurative works.

Valeur trained at the Royal Academy in the 1950s under Vilhelm Lundstrøm and others, and after that went globetrotting to Morocco and India and Sri Lanka where he spent several years.

In Denmark he lived and worked in Tibirke and Sønderhå in Thy where he had a summerhouse and studio.

Above:Woman, 1989 - oil painting

Einar Hein (May 19, 1875 - 1931), was one of the last generation of Skagen painters. He studied at the Academy in the 1890s and after that with P.S. Krøyer and Roll’s studio in Paris.

Above: Cyklister i havstokken, 1894 - oil on canvas (Skagens Museum)

Kristen Bjerre (May 17, 1869 - 1943) was a Danish painter and publican. He studied at the Royal Academy and with P.S. Krøyer, and then settled near his home town Lemvig, where he bought a small pub and boarding house in Ferring in 1891.

Many artists and writers came there, including some of Kristen’s brother Niels Bjerre’s friends, such as the painters Jens Vige and Jens Søndergaard who even bought a summer house there, at Bovbjerg where Kristen’s hotel relocated in 1901. Writers included Thøger Larsen, Jeppe Aakjær, and Johan Skjoldborg.

Above:Still Life with Pot Lid, Lemons and Plant, no year - oil on canvas (Privately owned)

Ludvig Find (May 16, 1869 - 1945) was a Danish Modernist painter who did some of his best work while still a student - first a couple of years at the Academy, then much longer with Krøyer and Zahrtmann. His work was Symbolist at the time with lines back to the Renaissance.

After trips to Florence and Paris his style changed to a less pregnant Neo-Impressionist one, and he embarked on an endless series of paintings of children in bright rooms and landscapes - which brought him commercial success as a child portraitist.

He did occasionally still paint worthwhile works, such as this one:

To herrer ved et bord, 1927 - oil on cardboard (Privately owned)

Ulrik Hoff (84 today) is a Danish artist, trained at the Academy in the early 1960s with Palle Nielsen and others. For many years he ran his own prep school for young artists seeking entry into the Academy.

Hoff almost exclusively paints abstract landscapes, inspired by Northern Zealand (Tibirke) or the flat areas of Southern Jutland.

Above:Aftenstemning, Helsingør, 2001 - oil on canvas (Dansk Kunstgalleri

Vilhelm Melbye (May 14, 1824 - 1882) was a Danish marine and landscape painter. He was one of three brothers who all were successful marine painters, and Anton Melbye was Vilhelm’s primary teacher, although he did attend classes at the Academy.

Anton came to London already as a teen and preferred being abroad. After completing his training in Copenhagen, he studied for a year in Düsseldorf and Paris and then settled with commercial success in London. In 1862 he finally returned to Copenhagen and eventually became a professor at the Academy shortly before his death…

Above:Boats on the Lake, Scottish Highlands (Loch Lomond), 1856 - oil on canvas (Privately owned)

Frederik Vermehren (May 12, 1823 - 1910) was a Danish painter and professor at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen. He was a dominant figure in Danish art in the second half of the 19. century, and a more conservative realist of the National Romantic school than contemporaries such as Zahrtmann and Krøyer. He was also in charge of acquisitions for the National Gallery (SMK) for a decade.

Above:Vinteraften ved Susåen, no date - oil on canvas (SMK)

Jens Vige (May 11, 1864 - 1912) was a Danish social-realist painter. He trained at the Academy and later with P.S. Krøyer. After marrying, he settled at Hammer Bakker in Northern Jutland and developed a preference for open air painting (he only worked summers) in Skagen and other heath and moor landscapes up north…

Above:Kvinder hakker lyng, 1906 - oil on canvas (SMK)

Augusta Dohlmann (May 9, 1847 - 1914) was a Danish painter, known for her flower paintings and still life compositions. Dohlmann studied and worked mainly in Paris where female artists had better access to art schools and academies and to being recognized for their abilities as artists. Back in Denmark Dohlmann helped start the Academy affiliated art school for women and to organize the 1895 Women’s Exhibition.

Above:Still Life with Birds, Vegetables and Spanish Grapes, 1902 - oil on canvas (Privately owned)

Paul Bloch (May 8, 1869 - 1946) was a Danish painter whose career was cut short by mental illness, which meant he spent his last 40+ years in hospital.

He had studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen, and his father was the well-known history painter Carl Bloch. Paul painted a small number of light interior paintings and genre pieces, such as this one:

Interiør med ung kvinde, som læser højt for veninde, before 1900 - oil on canvas (privately owned)

Sonny Tronborg (May 7, 1953 - 2009) was a Danish artist of the 80s generation of ‘young, wild’ experimentalists - film, performance, installation art was in at the Academy back then.

However, Tronborg also painted more traditional works, inspired by nature, and did decorative work for churches. He was known for his use of gold and golden colors.

He is very well represented at SMK, where this work, part of a series, can be found:

Manna, 2005 - Acrylic, lacquer and pencil on wood (Statens Museum for Kunst)

Frederik Rohde (May 27, 1816 - 1886) was a Danish landscape painter who trained at the Academy and in addition took private lessons from Christen Købke. Rohde got a travel scholarship and went to Germany, Austria and Switzerland where he may have picked up a preference for winter landscapes, of which he painted very many throughout his career.

Above:Winter Landscape, 1848 - oil on canvas (SMK)

Christen Købke (May 26, 1810 - 1848) was a Danish National-Romantic painter from the Golden Age of Danish art. He trained at the Royal Academy, starting at age 12, studying with Eckersberg and others.

Eventually Købke traveled abroad to Italy, but upon return failed to be accepted as a full-fledged member by the Royal Academy. This is said to have broken his spirit and he died young from pneumonia.

Now he is considered the most talented Danish National Romantic artist, and he did master both portrait painting, landscapes, interiors and genre painting in almost equal measure. I like his landscapes, esp. those showing Copenhagen, the Danish capital as a semi-rural city. This is the view from out his father’s garden gate:

Havelågen ved bagermester Købkes gård på Blegdammen, 1843-4 - oil on paper pasted onto canvas (SMK)

Henrik Nielsen (May 5, 1890 - 1941) was a Danish painter, trained at the Royal Academy, and known for his landscapes, portraits and social realist depictions of ordinary life, as in the canvas above.

Above:Det grønne køkken, 1920 - oil on canvas (Ribe Kunstmuseum)

Maj Arnell (April 30, 1910 - 2005) was a Swedish painter who trained at Valands målarskola during WWII and then at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen. She was from Gothenburg and influenced by Göteborgskoloristerna. Her work is in all good Swedish museums, including Nationalmuseum Stockholm, Moderna Museet and Göteborgs Konstmuseum.

Above:Båtar på Stranden, 1951 - oil on canvas (Moderna Museet)

Christian Bang (April 29, 1868 - 1950) was a Danish painter who vacillated between university studies and a career as an artist. He finally decided for the Academy in 1891 and studied there under Vermehren.

Bang loved spending time in Italy, and went there often for long stays. However, he was also employed by the Danish Royal House as a drawing teacher, and had several commissions to create altar pieces in Danish churches.

Above:A woman in a red dress sitting on a terrace in an Italian landscape, 1909 - oil on canvas (Privately owned)

Jens Jensen Egeberg (April 26, 1848 - 1922) was a Danish landscape painter. He trained at the Academy, finishing in 1880. He mostly painted in the Vejle/Silkeborg area.

Above:Borresøen en august morgen, 1904 - oil on canvas (Privately owned)

Carl Wentorf (April 25, 1863 - 1914) was a capable Danish genre and portrait painter. He studied at the Royal Academy in the 1880s and exhibited chiefly at the Charlottenborg seasonal shows. His works are found in good museums, such as Den Hirschsprungske and SMK.

Above:Under gudstjenesten i en kirke på Amager, 1891-2 - oil on canvas (SMK)