1867-1961

Johannes Larsen

Johannes Larsen was above all a man of the island of Funen and of course belonged to the group called the Funen Painters. He grew up in a merchant family in Kerteminde and in 1902 settled down with his family in the same place in the house “Møllebakken”, where he lived for the remainder of his 94 years. He is known as the bird painter, and his interest in birds ranged wide, from many motifs in drawings and paintings to illustrations in scholarly works. It was especially the local area at Kerteminde Bay and the bird life there that Johannes Larsen explored in his pictures.

 

51,5 x 84 cm

1891

51,5 x 84 cm

1891

The Copenhagen Zoo in Winter
Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

243 x 373 mm

1895

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

243 x 373 mm

1895

Ducks

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

240 x 374 mm

1895

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

240 x 374 mm

1895

Black-headed Gulls

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

385 x 615 mm

1896

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

385 x 615 mm

1896

Study of a Dead Black Grouse

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

465 x 613 mm

1897

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

465 x 613 mm

1897

Studies of a Dead Sheldrake

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

433 x 550 mm

1897

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

433 x 550 mm

1897

Studies of a Dead Young Grouse

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

415 x 570 mm

1898

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

415 x 570 mm

1898

Studies of a Dead Avocet

Black chalk, brush og watercolor on paper

485 x 710 mm

1899

Black chalk, brush og watercolor on paper

485 x 710 mm

1899

Studies of Eiders and Crows

 

44 x 46 cm

1899

44 x 46 cm

1899

Summer, Sun and Wind

Casein on composition board

89 x 122 cm

1899

Casein on composition board

89 x 122 cm

1899

Goldeneyes in an Ice Hole

In the winter picture Goldeneyes in an Ice Hole we can see a high horizon that is typical of Johannes Larsen’s compositions. This creates a special effect where the motif seems to tilt out towards the observer. The four ducks in the foreground of the picture are quite motionless and very sculpturally painted. Three of them are reflected in the water, which underlines their volume and helps to give them relief and a decorative effect. In the background the surface of the ice extends into the distance and with long vertical brushstrokes Johannes Larsen has painted a cold, rainy or snowy winter sky which adds to the thoroughly freezing look of the picture. The water in the ice hole is formed as almost purely ornamental surfaces which along with the matt casein paint and the deep blue and mauve colours make the picture decoratively and ideationally expressive. The style is Symbolist, in accordance with the prevailing tendencies in the art of the day.

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

400 x 520 mm

1900

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

400 x 520 mm

1900

Studies of a Dead Jay

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

293 x 453 mm

1901

Pen, ink, brush og watercolor on paper

293 x 453 mm

1901

Spring at Kerteminde

 

48 x 63,5 cm

1912

48 x 63,5 cm

1912

Tufted Ducks

 

57,5 x 71,5 cm

1932

57,5 x 71,5 cm

1932

Warm Spring Day. Seascape with Four Swimming Gulls