Mønsted’s idyllic landscapes

From the newly sprouted beech forest to the snow-covered landscape – the international auction shows the range of Peder Mønsted’s portrayal of Danish nature.

 

The last auction of the year at Bredgade features 15 paintings by Danish artist Peder Mønsted (1859-1941), one of the most productive landscape painters of his era. His vivid, naturalistic style of painting and idyllic depictions of landscapes made him a very popular and wealthy artist.

Spring sensations and snow-covered winter landscapes

Mønsted particularly liked to portray spring forests, with dappled sunlight breaking through the light green canopy, the sky and trees reflected in gentle streams and forest lakes. Everything is peaceful and idyllic, giving the beholder a wonderful spring feeling. Here, Mønsted’s technical ability is really in evidence, and these motifs are some of his most coveted, both in Denmark and abroad. Six of them are up for auction, including the work entitled “Forårsdag i Skoven” (Spring day in the woods) from 1895.

Denmark in winter is portrayed in two of the paintings up for auction. In one, we are taken to Brøndbyvester, south of Copenhagen, where the small half-timbered thatched houses and the village church in the background are covered in snow. Folk life is represented by two children sledging.

Mønsted on the move

Mønsted began his career at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1875, with Julius Exner as one of his tutors. However, in 1879, he left the academy to attend P.S. Krøyer’s Art School, but his wanderlust was too great. In 1882, he embarked on a study trip to Paris, where he was taught by one of the most popular French artists at that time, A.W. Bouguereau.

His urge to travel remained just as strong over the years, and Mønsted visited a great many countries in Europe and North Africa during his lifetime. The nature and culture he encountered on his travels were also popular motifs. One of the works up for auction was painted during a stay in Egypt in 1893, and depicts the Giza pyramids, and Bedouins and camels making their way through the desert.

The auction also shows other sides of the artist, as in the interior with a gentleman reading the newspaper and smoking a cigar, who is said to be Mønsted himself at home, and not least the farm with small children playing on the stairs.

Auction: 27 November 4 pm at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen

 

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For further information, please contact:

Birte Stokholm: +45 8818 1122 · bst@bruun-rasmussen.dk

Jeannette Trefzer: +45 8818 1123 · jet@bruun-rasmussen.dk

For further information, please contact:

Birte Stokholm: +45 8818 1122 · bst@bruun-rasmussen.dk

Jeannette Trefzer: +45 8818 1123 · jet@bruun-rasmussen.dk