 |
Northern Light Art
SENSIBLE PRICES , LASTING VALUE
About
Danish Art
ca 1890 -1930
Danish paintings are largely unappreciated by most Americans. Not so for the International community; Europeans have appreciated them for hundreds of years. The Royal Danish Academy goes back to 1753. Denmark has more museums per capita than any country. They were among the first to study with the French Impressionists in the 1870s and 80s, developed their own school called Nature, Light, and Mood (hence the name of our gallery). They showed their work internationally, including the Chicago World's Fair in 1887, Brooklyn in 1884, Paris International in 1900, and Toronto in 1917, from which Canadian Landscape Painting was influenced for the next 50 years.
Word was also spread by members of the Royal Danish Family as they married into the royal families of Europe; from Russia to England, Greece to Italy, Belgium to Germany, Danish Art was spread across the continent. Look closely at the names of museums across Europe and you'll notice that many of the root words are Danish.
Simply put, though Danish Painting may have been in the shadow of its more famous neighbors," true art collectors have always been aware of it's high regard and reputation. Now more collectors are becoming aware of this exceptional art:
The Internet and long established Danish Auction Houses are bringing Danish Painting to the world (Christie's even held a special auction not long ago in New York for one Danish painter of this period). Alas, this growing recognition is both a blessing and a curse:
Blessing is that Danish Art is more available and more well known than previously. Curse is that prices are shooting up.
Prices have doubled in the past four years, and show no sign of abating. Several reasons that prices aren't likely to go back down; Danish Painting now has the attention of the world market, fall of the dollar, strength of European and Russian buyers, "people in the know" (such as us) bidding up the best work, a limited supply, and similar factors are making Danish paintings into art of enduring value.
Which is why, before it's too late, Northern Light Art is acquiring as many pieces as possible before prices get out of reach, before they become as unaffordable as French, Italian, and Dutch paintings.
That way, we'll have some jewels waiting when people begin to discover these overlooked gems of European Art.
About Art of the Contemporary West
Art of the West is different than Western
Art: "Western Art" is a fond look at the past; cowboys, Indians,
frontier life, the ranch, and similar motifs. Art of the West, in contrast,
shows us the American West of today. In the tradition of Prairie, Southwest,
and Western painters, contemporary Artists of the West honor their regard
for the aesthetics of weather, dome of the sky, and far horizon to create
a fresh vision and subjective personality that is both timeless and thoroughly
modern.
Representative, Impressionist, and Moderne Styles
Representative (Academic)
Style
In general, Academic style paintings are those prior to the Impressionist
of the 1880s.
- The scenes and figures are highly representative, true to life. Each leaf on a tree, for example, is separated from the next leaf by the line drawn between them.
- Subject matter was often of the Royal Court, castles, epic battles, mythic characters, religious motifs, and other traditional or national subjects.
- Classic vision of art - a “window to eternity,” revealing the sweetness, beauty, and love that lay beyond the pain and difficulty of everyday life.
Impressionist Style
In general, this period refers to what came
after the Academic period, which includes Impressionist, Post Impressionist,
and Expressionist.
- Color, shape, and light now distinguish one element from another, not line drawing.
- Ordinary people are depicted, particularly people close to the earth such as farmers.
- Simple village life, rarely cities and never castles.
- Subjective personality, mood, and emotion is the aim, not objective renderings of objective scenes.
Painting light and color of the
new French Palette, modified only by the diffused apple-gold light of
Scandinavia, became known as “Nature, Light, and Mood" School.
.
Moderne Style
The Great War
of 1914 tore the old European culture
asunder. Not surprisingly, the themes, subject, and styles of art likewise
changed.
Shape, color, and light got even "looser." Shape was driven
down to the minimum detail possible. Forms were exaggerated even more.
Less and less did the scene need to represent reality, but only a reflection
of one's state of mind. Instead
of Windows to Eternity, the themes were often of hardship. Instead of
the "happy"
man, the downtrodden are often the
subjects (especially during the Depression). Simply
put, the Moderne Period took far more liberty than the previous ones.
Biographies
Most artists are "listed." Biographies list their training and eduction, exhibitions, awards, studies abroad, museum collections and other fascinating information. We source this information through the State Museum for Artists in Copenhagen, who sponsor www.kid.dk, the online access to Weilbachs Artist Lexicon (9 volumes, 8,550 pages). Sample Biography
Privacy Policy: Your email address will be kept confidential, not used for any purpose other than announcements, and not shared with any outside organization. Its use is strictly as a cost-effective and speedy method of communicating with our clients.
Copyright 2003, Northern Light.
Updated, January 2006
Site designed and produced by John Cunningham.
Cross-Platform functions by Alex Glassman.