Frede Christoffersen (15 April 1919 – 29 May 1987) was a Danish painter and illustrator.

Biography

Born in Borup in central Zealand, Christoffersen spent a short period at the Copenhagen Arts and Crafts School before travelling to the Far East in 1940–41. The result was his ''20 Smaa sorte Tegninger'' published in 1941. From 1942 to 1943, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, both at the graphic arts school and at the school of painting, under

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and

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. In the early 1940s, he began to illustrate books including

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's ''Digte'' (Poems) in 1942 and Ester Nagel's ''Mennesker'' (People, 1943). He also created coloured woodcuts and also produced book covers and posters but finally decided to concentrate on painting. His ''Aften, Lumsås'' (1952), a Surrealistic depiction of the sun in solid colours of yellow-green, yellow, maroon, bright green and deep blue is typical of his painting style and is one of many works with the sun as the motif. He also created images of the night in dark tones with the moon's pale cool light. Many of his works were in small formats but he also produced larger paintings, as in his wall decorations for Copenhagen's

De Danske Spritfabrikker Danish Distillers ( da, Det Danske Spiritus Kompagni known as ) is a company that was headquartered in Aalborg, Denmark. Isidor Henius, the father of Max Henius, was one of the founders of a company that was acquired by Danish Distillers, which en ...

(1956) and for

Askov Højskole Askov Højskole is a Danish folk high school, that is located in the village of Askov in southern Jutland between Kolding and Esbjerg. It was founded in 1865 as an extension of Denmark's first folk high school, which had been established in 1844 ...

(1957). Like his wife

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, he frequently exhibited his work at Den Frie Udstilling.

Awards

In 1965, Frede Christoffersen was awarded the Eckersberg Medal and, in 1986, the Thorvaldsen Medal.

References

Literature

* * *Peter Heiberg (1985): Frede Christoffersen: Tegnede og grafiske arbejder i tidsskrifter og bøger 1939–1983. 1985.

External links

Illustrated list of works by Frede Christoffersen in Danish museumsSelection of Christoffersen's works at Clausens Kunsthandel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christoffersen, Frede 1919 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish illustrators People from Køge Municipality Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni