Aage Bertelsen (28 September 1873 – 9 September 1945) 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 a ...

painter. He was a member of the Denmark Expedition to North-East Greenland. He has also worked for

Kähler Keramik Kähler Keramik (Kähler Ceramics) is a Danish ceramics manufacturer based in Næstved on the island of Zealand. History Joachim Christian Herman Kähler (1808–84) from Heiligenhafen in the Duchy of Holstein established himself as a potter th ...

Næstved Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the fou ...

Biography

Early life and career

Aage Bertelsen was born in

where his father, the painter Rudolf Bertelsen, was an art teacher at the Herlufsholm Bording School. From an early age he was taught to draw and paint by his father as well as by the painter L.A. Ring who was a close friend of the family. He later attended Zahrtmann's art school from 1892 to 1896 while working for Landvæsenet (1894–1897). Zahrtmann accompanied him on a journey to Italy in 1897 and in 1899–1900 he visited Germany and France.. Bertelsen exhibited at Charlottenborg's Spring Exhibition from 1899 to 1903 and at Kleis’ exhibition in 1901 and was a member of

Den Frie Udstilling Den Frie Udstilling ('The Free Exhibition') is a Danish artists' association, founded in 1891 by artists in protest against the admission requirements for the Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Modeled on the Salon des Refusés, it is Denmark's oldest ass ...

from 1904.

Expedition to Greenland, 1906–1908

In 1906–1908, Bertelsen participated in the Denmark Expedition to northeastern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

. In 1908, an exhibition with Bertelsen's and Achton Friis' works from the expedition was featured first at

in Copenhagen and later in Aarhus and

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

. In 1909 it moved on to Berlin and other German cities and in 19010 it was exhibited by the Royal Geographical Society in London. Later exhibitions of their works from the expedition include an exhibition at the

Rudolph Tegner Museum The Rudolph Tegner Museum is set in the middle of a protected area just south of Dronningmølle on Zealand's north coast, some 50 km north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The museum is dedicated to the oeuvre of the sculptor Rudolph Tegner (1873–1 ...

in 2011. A comprehensive extract from Friis' and Bertelsen's diaries was published in 2013. In 1907 Bertelsen, together with J.P. Koch, was reported to have first seen

Fata Morgana Land Fata Morgana Land ( da, Fata Morgana Landet) is a phantom island first sighted in the Arctic, off the north-eastern coast of Greenland in 1907 by J.P. Koch and Aage Bertelsen. It has been reported between Greenland and Svalbard, at the northern ...

( da, Fata Morgana Landet), a phantom island supposedly lying between NE Greenland and Svalbard. This elusive land was allegedly seen as well by

Lauge Koch Lauge Koch (5 July 1892 – 5 June 1964) was a Danish geologist and Arctic explorer. Biography Lauge Koch was born in 1892 to Karl and Elisabeth Koch. His development as a scientist was greatly influenced by his father's second cousin Johan P ...

from the air in 1933.

Later life

Back in Denmark, he settled in Birkerød as a landscape painter. He was a co-founder of Kunst for Varer ("Art for Goods") in 1924 and was chairman of the organization until his death in 1945. He is buried at Birkerød Cemetery.

Honours

The

Aage Bertelsen Glacier Bertelsen Glacier ( da, Bertelsen Gletscher) is a glacier in northern Greenland.Google Earth Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park. Between 2006 and 2010 there was an automatic weather station near the glacier. The ...

, as well as Cape Aage Bertelsen, a headland in

Queen Louise Land Queen Louise Land ( da, Dronning Louise Land; kl, Nuna Dronning Louise) is a vast mountainous region located west of Dove Bay, King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National P ...

, were named in his honour.Place names, NE Greenland – GEUS
/ref>

References

External links

Aage Bertelsen
at

Kunstindeks Danmark ''Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon'' (Weilbach's Biographical Dictionary of Artists) is a Danish biographical dictionary of artists and architects. The current edition, which is also freely accessible online, contains the biographies of some 8,000 Danis ...

Aage Bertelsen
at Artnet
Næstved Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertelsen, Aage Danish painters People from Næstved Municipality 1873 births 1945 deaths