From Marstal to Greenland

Now is your chance to bid at a themed auction of the works of Jens Erik Carl Rasmussen (1841-1893), spanning from waterscapes, coastal landscapes and portraits from his homeland on the island of Ærø to his renditions of Greenland’s spectacular nature and its people.

Pictures from home

Many people know the Danish artist J.E.C. Rasmussen from writer and critic Carsten Jensen’s “Sidste rejse” (The last journey) (2007), in which the artist was resurrected as the main character in the critically acclaimed literary work.

However, J.E.C. Rasmussen originally made his name as a naturalistic marine artist and the first real Greenland painter. He has in countless works reproduced motifs from the sailing ship era of Ærø, the island where he grew up. In the motifs from the South Funen Archipelago, his masterful ability to reproduce the sea is apparent, and his oeuvre also offers an abundance of charming and compassionate depictions of the people of his homeland.

Among other paintings, the auction presents “Udsigt fra Marstal over Det sydfynske Øhav ved skumringstide” (View from Marstal over the South Funen Archipelago at twilight), which, according to Rasmussen’s family, was the view from the artist’s studio in Marstal.

Travels to Greenland

On his first visit to Greenland in 1870, J.E.C. Rasmussen painted the work “En omkommet grønlænder bæres hjem” (A dead Greenlander is carried home), which is the earliest depiction of the presence of death in modern Danish painting. The themed auction offers you the opportunity to acquire the sketch of this painting, not to mention “Parti fra en grønlandsk fjord” (Scene from a Greenlandic fjord). It was during a visit to Greenland that J.E.C. Rasmussen made his “last journey”, when on the return trip to Denmark he disappeared on the brig Peru.

Personal portraits and religious depictions

The themed auction offers works of a more private nature in the form of a portrait of Rasmussen’s young fiancée and later wife, Anna Agidia Rasmussen.

J.E.C. Rasmussen was, however, also a deeply religious person and painted biblical scenes, which can be seen in Marstal church among other places, where he painted the altarpiece. One of his religious motifs “Jesu ridt gennem Jerusalem” (Jesus’ ride through Jerusalem) is featured in the themed auction.

All works offered at the themed auction come directly from J.E.C. Rasmussen’s descendents. The final hammers will fall from 8 pm on Wednesday 9 November, and the preview will take place until this date at Sundkrogsgade 30 in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn.

View all works by J.E.C. Rasmussen at the auction