Krøyer's Capri

June 1896 Krøyer and his wife Marie travelled to the Italian island of Capri where they spent a few months staying among other places in Anacapri, the second largest city on Capri. From this sojourn seven paintings is know today, and four of these depict colourful oleanders in bloom. The oleanders must have fascinated Krøyer with the force of their colour, contrasting so sharply with the blue sky and the white masonry. It is also obvious that Krøyer must have been infatuated with the reflections of the sunlight and the play of light and shade, since this very wall or other sunlit house or garden walls appear in several of the paintings made during the Capri sojourn.

Krøyer's fascination for painting the play of light on masonry under the sharpness of the sun in the South is felt even in a painting as early as the famous "Sunday Morning outside a Gitano Residence in Granada" (The Danish National Gallery) from 1879. This kind of motif offered him ample opportunity to experiment and make great play with his impressionist palette of light, colours and the characteristic bluish shadows. The trip to Capri in 1896 was his third visit to the island. He went there in 1880 and again for his honeymoon with Marie in 1889-90.

Capri is famous for its beauty and has been a popular destination all through history: The Roman emperors Tiberius and Augustus, for instance, both built villas on the island, H.C. Andersen visited the island in 1834, and many other famous Danish painters, including Fritz Petzholdt, Cilius Andersen and Peder Mønsted, have painted the beautiful and serene coastal town of Anacapri.

Preview: 11 – 16 April, Bredgade 33, Copenhagen K.
Auction: 17 – 26 April, Bredgade 33, Copenhagen K.