Axel Johannes Salto (17 November 1889 – 21 March 1961) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

ceramic artist of international fame. His works also include painting, graphic design and illustrations for books, jewelry and textiles. As author and founder of the art magazine Klingen (1917–1919), Salto was also an important contributor to the art debate in Denmark.

Biography

Axel Johannes Salto was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark. He was the son of H.C. Salto, married to Kamma Salto and father of

Naja Salto Naja Salto (1945–2016) was a Danish painter and textile artist who is remembered for her rich, brightly coloured tapestries, many depicting scenes of the sea and the sky. Early life, education and family Born in Copenhagen on 22 November 1945, ...

. He graduated from Frederiksberg Latin og Realskole in 1907 and was a student of Holger Grønvold at Det tekniske Selskabs Skole from 1907. Salto then studied at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

from 1909 to 1914 under Peter Rostrup Bøyesen. He made his debut as an artist in 1911. In 1916, Salto visited Paris, where he met

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

. This meeting became a landmark for Salto's artistic ambitions and his influence on the pioneering ideas of the time. In 1921, Salto co-founded the artistic group ''De Fire'', consisting of

Svend Johansen Svend Johansen (10 September 1890 – 6 October 1970) was a Danish painter, scenographer and illustrator. Biography Born in Gentofte, Johansen attended the Copehangen Technical School where he met Poul Henningsen who became a friend and associate ...

Vilhelm Lundstrøm Vilhelm Lundstrøm (26 May 1893 – 9 May 1950) was a Danish modernist painter. He was a central figure in early Danish experimental art and introduced French cubism to Denmark. Biography Vilhelm Henry Lundstrøm was born in Copenhagen, Den ...

and Karl Larsen. The group spent a large part of the 1920s in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where they lived and worked together. The four artists first exhibited at the turn of the year 1920-21 and continued regularly until 1928. The group profiled itself as modern, young and progressive, and its exhibitions were surrounded by debate and controversy.

Ceramics

His primary career as a ceramist took off at the

1925 Paris Exhibition The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (french: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. It was designed by the Fren ...

. Throughout the 1920s, his artistic focus shifted from painting to ceramics and he made about 3,000 different stoneware works from 1923 to 1950. A large part of these were made in the Carl Halier ceramic workshop in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

. Among Salto's first works was the polychrome porcelain (

Bing & Grøndahl Bing & Grøndahl was a Danish porcelain manufacturer founded in 1853 by the sculptor Frederik Vilhelm Grøndahl and merchant brothers Meyer Hermann Bing and Jacob Herman Bing. The trademark backstamp for Bing & Grøndahl (B&G) porcelains is the t ...

, 1923–25), which was presented in the Danish Pavilion at the Paris World Exhibition in 1925. Then followed stoneware in collaboration with Carl Halier (1929–30) and Saxo ceramics (1931–32). From the mid-1930s he worked mainly with The Royal Porcelain factory in Copenhagen. Salto developed his ceramic stoneware works throughout his career and experimented with unusually rich glazes and organic shapes. He is mainly known for his three main styles characterized by ornamental simplification; rifled style, based on simple repetitive patterns, buttoned style, inspired by chestnuts and eucalyptus fruit and budding style, a reflection of naturally growing plants. Salto used Chinese and classic glazes such as solfatara and sung, among others. From 1951 to 1959, Salto led the renewal of Sonnes Frize at

Thorvaldsens Museum The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The museum is locate ...

. He was a member of

Grønningen Grønningen is a Danish artists cooperative whose members arrange exhibitions and similar events. Founded in 1915, it is one of the oldest and most important groupings of its kind in Denmark and currently has 54 members. It is named after the stree ...

1935-45. He received the

Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The Ec ...

in 1938 and Prince Eugen Medal in 1959, and the Grand Prix at the Milan Triennial in 1951.

''Klingen''

After the trip to Paris in 1916 and the meeting with Pablo Picasso, Salto founded the Danish art magazine '' Klingen'' published from 1917 to 1920. Salto was both editor and contributor. Although the magazine was only published for two years, it became important as a forum for modernism art as well as the new ideas of the time, with articles by literary critic Einar Otto Gelsted, author

Poul Henningsen Poul Henningsen (9 September 1894 – 31 January 1967) was a Danish author, critic, architect, and designer. In Denmark, where he often is referred to simply as PH, he was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark between the Worl ...

and artist

Harald Giersing Harald Giersing (24 April 1881 – 15 January 1927) was a Danish painter. He was instrumental in developing the classic modernism movement in Denmark around 1910-1920. He is remembered as one of Denmark's most important 20th-century artists both f ...

, as well as original artwork by

Olaf Rude Olaf Rude (26 April 1886 – 17 June 1957) was a Art of Denmark, Danish painter. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art from 1953 to 1956. He is remembered in particular for his paintings of oak trees at Skejten on Lolland, two of ...

William Scharff Niels William Scharff (30 October 1886– 20 September 1959) was a Danish painter, one of the leading proponents of Cubism in Denmark. Early life After training as a painter at Copenhagen's Technical School, Scharff attended Kristian Zahrtmann' ...

and Axel Salto himself.

Literature

*''Salto's Keramik'' (1930). Text: Axel Salto. Illustrations: Axel Salto. 130 pages. OCLC number: 62351142. * ''Salto's Træsnit'' (1940). Text by Axel Salto and Paul la Cour. Illustrations: Axel Salto. 48 pages. OCLC number: 462552040. Published by A/S Det Hoffenbergske Etablissement. * ''Den spirende Stil'' (1949). Text by Axel Salto. Illustrations: Axel Salto. 130 pages. OCLC number: 62351142. Published by Grafisk Cirkel. * ''Axel Salto: Grafiker, keramiker och textilkonstnar'' (1949). Text by Axel Salto, Björn Lundegård, Pierre Lübecker, Nils Lindhagen, Nils Palmgren. Published by Folkrörelsernas Konstfrämjande, Stockholm.

References

External links

Klingen

Paris Udstillingen 1925

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salto, Axel 1961 deaths 1889 births 20th-century Danish ceramists Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal People from Copenhagen 20th-century ceramists Danish magazine founders