Christen Købke (b. Copenhagen 1810, d. s.p. 1848)
Portrait of Margrethe Hahn, married Stougaard. Half-lenght portrait in profile with a blue silk headscarf. Signed and dated on the reverse C. Købke 14–9-1829, this now covered by a new canvas. Oil on canvas. 21×18 cm.
Emil Hannover, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Christen Købke no. 16 (in the note). Mario Krohn, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Christen Købke no. 18. Jørgen Folmer and Iben From, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Christen Købke no. 18.
Exhibited: Guildhall, London, “Exhibition of Works by Danish Painters”, 1907 no. 220, (here with a wrong provenance: Mario Krohn). Kunstforeningen, “Fortegnelse over Christen Købkes Malerier”, 1912 no. 19. Kunstforeningen, “Christen Købke”, 1953 no. 14. Statens Museum for Kunst, “Christen Købke 1810–1848”, 1996 no. 18. Literature: Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen, “Christen Købke - Omkring Kastellet”, vol. I, 1996, p. 102 and 112, reproduced p. 104. Mogens Nykjær, “Kundskabens billeder. Om Christen Købke” in “Argos. Tidsskrift for kunstvidenskab - visuel kommunikation - kunstpædagogik” no. 3, 1986 p. 27.
Provenance: Always in the possession of the family of Margrethe Hahn. Søren Sørensen, Doctor, Thisted (1893). Jerslev, Pharmacist, Fjerritslev (1953).
Købke writes in his diary 12 August 1829: “Started to paint Grethe” and again 14 September: “Finished the painting of Grethe”. (Mario Krohn, “Maleren Christen Købkes Arbejder”, 1915 p. 5).
In the summer of 1829 Købke spent a couple of months at the vicar J. C. Hahn's home. Here Købke flirted with one of the vicar's two daughters, Margrethe, called Grethe. He painted the present portrait for the family, and a repetition for himself as a memory. Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen, Art Historian, charmingly describes the small, fine portrait in “Christen Købke - Omkring Kastellet” p. 112 (in Danish): “Her face is like a winter apple, but with a sweetness, that moves downwards and gathers around her mouth, while the sadness in her eyes most certainly is due to her youth and the fact that the two of them were about to part”.
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.
Paintings, 28 November 2017