Exhibited: Den Frie Udstilling, Copenhagen, 1912, cat. no. 66. Exhibited: Retrospective Summer Exhibition, Den Frie Udstilling, Copenhagen, 1914, cat. no. 64. Exhibited: Harald Giersing Mindeudstilling, Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 1927, cat. no. 122. Provenance: Previously in the collection of Dagmar Kehlet and since by descent in the family.

The landscape around “Mindet” on the island of Christiansø is a well-known motif for aficionados of Danish Modernism. In 1911, a group of artist friends led by Axel Salto went for the first time to Ertholmene, a small archipelago northeast of Bornholm. The mood and the climate on the islands encouraged the artists to try out new ideas and explore the formation of colour and form in ways that were inspired by the French painting style, which several of the artists had become familiar with a couple of years earlier in Paris. Karl Isakson and Edvard Weie, for instance, painted the view at “Mindet” many times.

The motif has not previously been seen in Harald Giersing's artwork. He took part in the trip to Christiansø in 1911 and subsequently exhibited his view of the sea, as he saw and experienced it, at “The Free Exhibition” in 1912 – an exhibition that Weie also participated in. Today, Weie’s version of the motif belongs to the National Gallery of Denmark and is almost identical to Giersing's here. Weie’s painting is traditionally dated to 1912, but according to the Weie expert and art historian Lennart Gottlieb, the work must have been painted around 1920. Giersing and Weie were in close contact with each other around 1911–12, and they were also friends with Isakson, who painted the motif in 1911. So, it is quite natural that Weie would not have painted this motif while he was on Christiansø in 1912 – it would be too unoriginal. The motif, however, was so obviously picturesque in its scenery that it became a central motif in Weie’s art.

Giersing’s “Mindet. Kristiansø,” was for sale in 1914, where he presented it to the public for a second time. The painting is a little gem with a special significance for art history, as it constitutes an important piece in the story of the breakthrough of Modernism in Denmark. The provenance of the painting is also interesting since it was originally acquired by Dagmar Kehlet, a close acquaintance of Giersing and known within art history as the model for Sigurd Swane's two portraits now located at the National Gallery of Denmark and ARoS.