Odsherred Painters: Difference between revisions

'''Odsherred Painters''' ({{lang-langx|da|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]].<ref>{{cite webencyclopedia|url=http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Kunst_og_kultur/Billedkunst/Billedkunst,_Danmark_generelt/Odsherredsmalerne|title=Odsherredsmalerne|publisherencyclopedia=''Den Store Danske''|accessdate=26 August 2014 |language=Danish}}</ref><ref name=vokk>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitodsherred.dk/sites/default/files/asp/visitodsherred/PDF/kunst-og-kultur-2013.pdf|title=Art and Culture 2013|publisher=Visit Odsherred|accessdate=26 August 2014 |language=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827001300/http://www.visitodsherred.dk/sites/default/files/asp/visitodsherred/PDF/kunst-og-kultur-2013.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[Realism (arts)|Naturalism]] and [[Figurative art|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 painters|Corner]] series of exhibitions in Copenhagen.<ref name=ohm>{{cite web|url=http://www.odsherreds-kunstmuseum.dk/index.php/kunstmuseet/malerne|title=Odsherredsmalerne|publisher=Odsherreds Kunstmuseum|accessdate=26 August 2014 |language=Danish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929011958/http://www.odsherreds-kunstmuseum.dk/index.php/kunstmuseet/malerne|archive-date=29 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite webencyclopedia|url=http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Kunst_og_kultur/Billedkunst/Billedkunst,_Danmark_generelt/Corner?highlight=corner|title=Corner|publisherencyclopedia=''Den Store Danske''|accessdate=26 August 2014 |language=Danish}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lauritz.com/da/odsherredmalere/a2605/0/0/|title=Odsherredmalere|publisher=Lauritz.com|accessdate=1 September 2014 |language=Danish}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Valentiner|first=Gitte|title=Odsherredsmalerne - en kunstnerkoloni|url=httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=fIRNQwAACAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Odsherreds Kunstmuseum|page=21|isbn=978-87-989993-0-0}}</ref>

The first painting of the Odsherred landscape was completed by Johan Thomas Lundbye in 1840. Typical of Denmark's [[Golden Age of Danish Painting|Golden Age]], it presents a scene north of Bjergsø with the Vejrhøj Hill and Dragsholm Manor.<ref name=vokk/> 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.<ref name=omk>{{cite web|url=http://www.odsherreds-kunstmuseum.dk/index.php/kunstmuseet/malerne/102-alle-de-andre|title=Kunstnere, der er repræsenteret på Odsherreds Kunstmuseum|publisher=Odsherred Museum|accessdate=26 August 2014 |language=Danish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827103932/http://www.odsherreds-kunstmuseum.dk/index.php/kunstmuseet/malerne/102-alle-de-andre|archive-date=27 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[TroelTroels Trier]] (1879-1962) and his sons [[Holmer Trier|Holmer]] (1916-1999) and [[Ernst Trier|Ernst]] (1920-1979). [[Paul Nyhuus]] (1910-1970) also had connections with the school. Others included [[Aksel Møller (painter)|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 (sculptor)|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 Sjælland|Nykøbing]] while [[Jørgen Brynjolf]] (1931-1993) and [[Ole Finding]] (born 1937) discovered new motifs in Odsherred.<ref name=omk/>

* {{cite book|last=Fabritius|first=Elisabeth|title=Danish Artists' Colonies: The Skagen Painters, the Funen Painters, the Bornholm Painters, the Odsherred Painters|url=httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=wYyDMQAACAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Skagens Museum|isbn=978-87-88686-39-5}}

* {{cite book|last=Granhøj Jørgensen|first=Hardy |title=Modernisme midt i naturen Odsherredsmalerne|url=httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=TnIsnwEACAAJ|year=2013|publisher=Museum Odsherred, Kunstmuseet i Asnæs|isbn=978-87-993053-1-5}}

* {{cite book|last=Valentiner|first=Gitte|title=Odsherredsmalerne - en kunstnerkoloni|url=httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=fIRNQwAACAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Odsherreds Kunstmuseum|isbn=978-87-989993-0-0}}

[[Category:EuropeanDanish artist groups and collectives]]