Master Piece by the Danish Golden Age Painter Martinus Rørbye

The Danish Golden Age painters are regular guests at our auctions, and the anniversary auction is no exception. Here you can find a large selection of some of the greatest names from this rich period within Danish art history. The highlight is Martinus Rørbye’s (1803-48) "View of the square in Amalfi" from 1835, which today has to be regarded as one of his central works, but which already during contemporary times was highly praised. For instance, the art magazine Kunstbladet wrote in 1838 (translated from Danish):

"The perspective is excellent and allows the church with its large staircase to take a grand step into the background. The, for the viewer, more closely situated houses with their boutiques and a building facade (…) are very picturesque, and the simple eateries on the street with the surrounding customers are reproduced naturally and truthfully. Around the great fountain (…) the wives are gathered to fill their jars and bowls with cold water. The carelessly placed tomatoes, apples, pumpkins, melons, etc. in the foreground, confirm that you are looking at a land of plenty. The powerful, blue sky and the strong sunshine are exquisitely reproduced, one almost feels the warmth of the South.”

On a Fieldtrip with an Easel and Painting Supplies

Rørbye attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen during the 1820s, where he was a student of C.W. Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The teacher encouraged his students to paint their motifs on location and under the open sky. Thus, the Golden Age painters engaged in the "plein air" tradition, which points to later art movements such as Impressionism.

In this offered painting, Rørbye sat from 18 to 31 August in 1835 in the same spot on the square in Amalfi overlooking the church, the shops and the remains of a castle high up on the cliff in the background. The attention to detail is great, and as a viewer you can follow the town's daily life – the women at the fountain, men in conversation on the stairs to the church and the prisoners in jail. At the same time, the work provides a rich insight into Amalfi's beautiful and diverse architecture. Despite the many details, Rørbye's painting still maintains the vividness of a study. To capture the motif, Rørbye suffered quite the number of challenges due to the town's many curious citizens. In his travel journal, he has described the process in detail:

“Today, I began working on my painting at the square, which will be a hard nut to crack, but I'm remaining calm since I have hired André, the cicerone’s son, and he keeps the boys and other gawkers at bay. It is incredible how one can treat the Neapolitans. I'm almost sitting like a king here.”

The World Outside Denmark

It was not unusual in the 19th century for Danish artists to be interested in the world outside Denmark, and many travelled to Italy and other countries in search of artistic inspiration, new motifs and lessons from the old masters. Rørbye, therefore, took an artistic Grand Tour in the years 1834-37 to Italy, Greece and Turkey.

About the Danish Golden Age

The Danish Golden Age is characterized by a flourishing artistic and intellectual life in spite of the major problems Denmark faced at the time – the bombardment of Copenhagen by the British fleet and the loss of the Navy in 1807, the state bankruptcy in 1813 and the loss of Norway in 1814. The national spirit was in need of a restoration, which resulted in some of the finest literature and artwork in Danish history. At Bruun Rasmussen, we always experience a great international demand for works from the Danish Golden Age among private art collectors and museums. In recent years, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Denmark have expanded their collections of works from the Danish Golden Age.

Auction: Tuesday 27 November at 4 pm at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen

Preview: 21-26 November at the same address

View all the lots with works by Martinus Rørbye
View all the lots with fine art
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