C. W. Eckersberg (b. Blåkrog near Aabenraa 1783, d. Copenhagen 1853)
“Udsigt mod Syd fra Helsingørs Rhed, med en dansk Korvet til Ankers samt nogle andre mindre Skibe dels under Sejl og dels til Ankers”. View to the South from the road of Elsinore with a Danish corvette at anchor and smaller ships, some under sail and some at anchor. Signed and dated E. 1830. Oil on canvas. 56×87 cm. Period frame.
Philip Weilbach, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of C. W. Eckersberg, 1872, p. 252 under “IX. Billeder fra Søen og Livet på Søen, udførte i Aarene 1821–1851” (Pictures from the sea and life on the sea, made in the years 1821–1851). Emil Hannover, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of C. W. Eckersberg, 1898, no. 431.
Exhibited: Kunstforeningen, “Udstilling af Malerier, af ældre og yngre danske Kunstnere, hvoraf Indtægten er bestemt til Anvendelse ved Frederiksborg Slots Gjenopførelse”, 1860 no. 85 (Carl Emil Mundt). Kunstforeningen, “Udstillingen af C. W. Eckersbergs Malerier”, 1895 no. 238 (Christopher Mundt). Charlottenborg, “Sønderjysk Udstilling paa Charlottenborg”, 1937, no. 108 (Holger Mundt).
Provenance: Acquired by Kunstforeningen (the Art Association) directly from the artist. Won at Kunstforeningen's lottery 1830 by Councillor of State Just Henrik Mundt (1782–1859); his brother, professor Carl Emil Mundt (1802–1873); his son, doctor Christopher Mundt (1844–1925); his son, architect Holger Mundt (1937). Thence by descent in the family. Bruun Rasmussen auction 656, 1998 no. 225, ill. p. 70, 71, 72 and 73. Christies, Old Master and European Paintings, Maj 2024 no. 41, ill. in the catalogue.
Eckersberg writes in his diary about the present painting (in Danish): 3 September 1830: “Began a new painting, a sea piece...” 29 September 1830: “Finished the sea piece today, it represents, View to the South from the road of Elsinore with a Danish corvette at anchor and smaller ships, some under sail and some at anchor.”
From his early childhood in Blaakrog by Als Fjord in Southern Jutland, Eckersberg was fascinated by the sea and ships, and although history painting was at the time the most respected genre at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, he already began painting seascapes during his studies here in the 1800s.
In the 1820s, Eckersberg began to deal more seriously with marine painting, and in the 1830s and 40s it became his favorite genre. Here he could combine his great love for the sea, ships and nature.
Preben Michael Hornung and Kasper Monrad write the following (in Danish) about Eckersberg as a marine painter in “C. W. Eckersberg - dansk malerkunsts fader” (C. W. Eckersberg - father of Danish painting), Cph. 2005, p. 227:
"No other Danish painter mastered this field with such precision as Eckersberg. Nor did any painter make such high demands on the practice of the genre. In his view, a painter who wanted to make a proper marine painting had first to know the different types of ships, their size, curvature, etc., and to know whether the ship was a battleship, a corvette, a frigate or a ship of the line. From the hull and rigging, that is, the entire sailing machinery, he also had to be able to determine a ship's nationality and its mission: whether it was to be used for war or trade. He had to have an overview of the situations a ship could face when it was in the sea, or if something happened, and how to maneuver it under changing weather conditions with the help of good seamanship. In addition, he had to know about meteorology and its significance, about how the wind affected the waves and the sails, and what clouds appeared in the sky in what kind of weather. Because wind conditions were important for the appearance of the sea as well as for the clouds. And it all had to fit together."
The above quote testifies to Eckersberg's great thoroughness and careful examination of reality in relation to his subjects in general, but in particular in relation to the marine painting, which was very close to his heart. Nothing must be 'wrongly' depicted - everything had to be in accordance with reality.
For this purpose, Eckersberg kept a careful notebook of weather and wind conditions, and he went on many short and longer sailing trips aboard many different types of ships to study everything that had to do with sailing. And on his many walks around Copenhagen, he often visited the Nyholm naval station and the city's many docks to closely study the ships, also during the their actual construction phase. He even constructed a small ship model in wood to use for studies for his marine paintings (see cat. no. 27).
The present work is a classic, very beautiful and large example of Eckersberg's marine paintings. The large ship lying at anchor represents the corvette Flora. On the sea around Flora, Eckersberg has placed many smaller ships of various types, some of which are at anchor and others are on their way in different directions at full sail - all of them are minutely and detailedly described and carefully positioned in relation to each other and in relation to the sea, the waves and the viewer in a complex spatial construction. A fresh breeze creates small waves with foam tops. Just above the horizon, the sky is coloured in a warm light pink light, which is replaced upwards by a cool clear blue sky with a few grey-white clouds. The rigging on the corvette forms a cobweb of fine patterns against the sky. A naval officer is about to climb aboard. And another small rowing boat with sailors is heading out towards the corvette.
In many ways, Eckersberg's marine paintings become the apotheosis of his artistic endeavor to unite careful studies of nature and natural scientific observations and data with the abstract and formal qualities of painting, including the colours, the light and the geometrical construction of perspective. It is a carefully constructed and idealised representation of reality, where nothing is left to chance. It is full of details that you can zoom in on without losing the experience of the whole.
Flora was launched in 1826 and in 1830, when the painting was painted, it was a guard ship in the Sound (Øresund).
A colour lithography of the painting was made by lithographer P. W. Johannsen at Normann Zeuthens Kunstforlag in 1942.
Condition report available on request.
Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.