Skaw galore!

The auctions at Bredgade are often headed by works created by artists from the famous artist colony in Skagen. What makes this autumn special is that we have no fewer than 21 works by the Skaw painters and a wide range of motifs.

Portrait of a father and daughter

An aging gentleman dressed in black with his arm around the waist of a young woman wearing a lovely light blue evening dress is the motif of the autumn auction’s highest-estimated painting. Those portrayed are the brewer Carl Jacobsen and his youngest daughter Paula. In the background is a bust depicting the brewer’s first wife, Ottilia, who died five years before the painting was painted in 1908.

With this portrait, P.S. Krøyer depicted one of the high-ranking businessmen and cultural figures of that day. Carl Jacobsen was the son of J.C. Jacobsen, who founded the Carlsberg brewery. His son followed in his father’s footsteps and, in 1871, founded the Ny Carlsberg brewery. However, Carl Jacobsen was also an art collector and patron of the arts, and, in 1882, he founded the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum in Copenhagen, which was opened to the public in 1897. He also set up a large number of funds that continue to support Danish art and culture to this day.

Anna Ancher’s painting resurfaces

Anna Ancher’s evocative motif “Vaccination” from 1899 was until recently considered lost, but has resurfaced and been consigned to auction at Bruun Rasmussen. Eight mothers have turned up at the sunlit doctor’s waiting room with their 11 children to have them vaccinated against smallpox. The doctor is about to stab the needle into the plump little arm of a girl looking up at him with fear in her eyes. In the background, women breast-feeding their babies chat happily together, and, despite the reason for their attendance, the atmosphere is cheerful.

The motif is from a time when people began to focus more and more on disease control and health care. Urban oases sprouted up in the form of green parks, ensuring fresh air for the benefit of residents. Physical and mental disorders became the subject of public debate, and children were vaccinated against the worst of the diseases. These topics were also addressed by the visual arts, but Anna Ancher’s portrayal is a far cry from the motifs usually favoured by the artist colony, and must undoubtedly have come as a surprise to many when it was exhibited at Charlottenborg in the year it was painted.

Christian X’s fisherman

The last of the three major Skagen painters was Anna Ancher’s husband Michael Ancher, and the local fishermen were his preferred motif. A bold cropping characterises his work from 1910, which is an intense depiction of a lone fisherman on his way out to sea in his rowing boat one sunny day. With a serious look on his face, he turns his head and looks to the right with eyes as blue as the water around him.

The painting once belonged to King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine and hung in their summer residence “Klitgaarden” in Skagen. The king was very interested in Skagen and the art that came to life there. He met Michael Ancher on several occasions and bought this piece directly from the artist. The painting was consigned to auction by the granddaughter of Christian X, H. H. Princess Elisabeth, along with a number of other paintings and antiques with royal provenance – including a pair of French faience vases that have adorned the halls of Christian VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg.

Auction: Tuesday 17 September 4 pm at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen

Preview: 12-16 September at the same adress

View all Skagen paintings

View all of H.H. Princess Elisabeth’s items

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