Knud Larsen (Danish 1865-1922)
Tending Sheep Near Hjortdal Kirke
oil on canvas, signed lower right "Knud Larsen", signed and numbered on stretcher "No. 7 Knud Larsen", possibly exhibited Danish Royal Academy 1903 273 "En Vogterdreng" ("A Guardianboy")
Size:31.5 h x 43.75 w
J21295
uno@langmann.com
604 736 8825 or 1 800 730 8825
Danish landscape and genre painter Knud Larsen is best known for his panoramic views of the northern Jutland countryside bathed in the bright Northern light that made the Skagen artist colony famous. Here we have a young boy tending to his flock, his animated pose so describes his frustration with the sheep he is managing. In the background is the ancient Hjortdal Church which lies on the northern coast of Jutland just above the sea. Larsen has expertly captured the atmospheric effect of the sunny day, the figure of the boy and the sheep intricately rendered.
Hjortdal Church is situated on the hills above the coastal beaches on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula. In the outskirts of Svinkløv plantation, the church is on one of the Middle Age roads which connects south to the town of Viborg and north to Skagen. Hjortdal Church dates from the 1100’s with a Romanesque choir and nave. It has a late Gothic tower to the west, and a porch from 1586 to the north. The south German baptismal basin dates from circa 1575, and the pulpit from 1592.
Knud Larsen studied at the Royal Danish Academy and is known for his airy landscapes of the northern Jutland countryside in the Scandinavian tradition. He captured atmospheric effects with Impressionistic brushstrokes and patches of bright sunlight influenced by Danish artists such as Peder Severin Kroyer, Theodor Philipsen and L.A. Ring. Larsen travelled extensively throughout Europe and exhibited widely abroad, as well as at the Royal Academy (Charlottenborg) where he served on committees in 1905-1906 and from 1914-1922, and the council from 1908 until his death in 1922. He is represented in public and private collections throughout Denmark.