Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the couple Marius and Nielsine Windfeld-Hansen. Thence by descent until today.

Marius Windfeld-Hansen (1850–1937) was the founder of Denmark's first cotton spinning mill, 'Vejle Bomuldsspinderi', later 'De Danske Bomuldsspinderier'.

The painting functions both as an independent portrait of Degn Brøndum as a hunter, sitting in the dunes with a cigar stub in his mouth and looking out over the landscape with his sporting gun and bag on one side and his faithful hunting dog on the other. The painting can also be considered a preparatory work for Krøyer's larger painting “Skagens jægere” (The Skagen Hunters) from 1898, which measures 145×255 cm and is located at ARoS, Aarhus Art Museum (Inv. No. 88). In that painting, Brøndum is depicted in the same pose as in the present painting, but without a sporting gun and bag. Preben Michael Hornung writes the following about the painting “Skagens jægere” (The Skagen Hunters) in “Peder Severin Krøyer”, 2002: “The motif became a tribute to one of his [Krøyer's] favourite pastimes in Skagen, when he wasn't painting – or partying. He enjoyed going hunting, even if Michael Ancher was the one who came home with the biggest bag.” (p. 297) For Krøyer, the social life surrounding the hunt meant just as much, if not more, as the hunt itself. He was, according to Michael Ancher, not a particularly skilled hunter – and all the people in the large group portrait are friends of the artist. Brøndum had thus hosted Krøyer on many a festive occasion. “The motif of the painting was more a situation than a specific event. The inspiration could have arisen from any given hunt during those years, as a letter from 1893 suggests: ”So we had lunch together on a high dune, overlooking the blue sea on one side – it had become sunny, however – drank one schnapps after another and were in high spirits both from the alcohol as well as the lovely weather. Ancher was in a brilliant mood – but he also had half a dozen partridges lying next to him.” (p. 298) “But just like the large, commissioned portraits of the men who ruled in either the realms of finance or religion, this collective of hunters is characterized beyond their recognizability. They assume different positions for the sake of variety. But that does not mean that the manner they sit or lie on, is particularly characteristic. The protagonist is now as before [in Krøyer’s work] the light. Not just any light. But the light of the place. The place itself – at the Sandmile – only has significance as a set piece.” (p. 300) This is also the case with this painting – it is the light that is the most important aspect. Notice how it surrounds Brøndum's entire figure almost like an inverted outline.

Degn Brøndum (1856–1932) was a merchant, innkeeper, hotel owner, co-founder of Skagens Museum and brother of Anna Ancher. Around 1880, he took over Brøndums Hotel in Skagen after his father.

See also lot no. 145 for another preparatory work by Krøyer for “Skagens jægere” (The Skagen Hunters).