Hans Ludvig Smidth (2 October 1839,

Nakskov Nakskov is a town in south Denmark. It is situated in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland on the western coast of the island of Lolland. The town has a population of 12,495 (1 January 2022). To the west is Nakskov Fjord, an inlet from the La ...

– 5 May 1917,

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 ...

) 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 is remembered above all for his paintings of Jutland and its local inhabitants.

Biography

Smidth was the son of the city

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

of Skive, Edvard Philip Smidth, and the brother of Verner Frederik Læssøe Smidth who founded the cement concern F. L. Smidth & Co. After graduating from school, he began to study medicine but gave it up in favour of art. In 1861, he entered the

Danish Academy Danish Academy is an independent organisation founded in 1960 by a circle of Danish intellectuals "to promote Danish esprit and language, especially within the field of literature". It has up to 20 members, currently 18, and is based at Rungstedlu ...

where he studied under

Niels Simonsen Niels Simonsen (10 December 1807 – 11 December 1885) was a Danish painter, lithographer and sculptor. Biography Simonsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of Simnon Rasmusson and Bolette Nielsdatter. His parents were shop ...

. In 1866, he began to experience financial difficulties and left the Academy to continue his studies himself, painting scenes of

Limfjord The Limfjord (Danish language, common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking Age, Viking times. However, i ...

and the moors of Jutland. He first exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1867 with two landscape paintings and continued to exhibit there over the years. His works depicted country life in Jutland, most of them with an emphasis on animals and local figures. He had a talent for form and detail but his use of colour was rather dry, diminishing the appeal of his paintings to the general public. In 1870-71, he studied under

Vilhelm Kyhn Peter Vilhelm Carl Kyhn (March 30, 1819 – May 11, 1903) was a Danish landscape painter who belonged to the generation of national romantic painters immediately after the Danish Golden Age and before the Modern Breakthrough. Even though he outliv ...

. As the years went by, Smidth's style developed considerably, earning him the Neuhausen Prize in 1877 for ''En fremmed spørger om Vej i Bondegaarden paa Heden'' which was not only technically impressive but showed a fineness of tone. His increasing acceptance as a master of painting in Jutland paved the way for his reputation at the national level. In fact Smidth had to wait until the year 1900 before he experienced full recognition. That year the Danish Art Society arranged a special exhibition of the artist's work although he was now 60. Unexpectedly 290 of the 300 works sketches and drawings exhibited were sold. In retrospect, his paintings are free of historical or mythical figures, they do not interpret scenes along the lines of the

Skagen Painters The Skagen Painters ( da, Skagensmalerne) were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scen ...

. They simply depict the views of the people and the countryside as he saw them. His paintings show he had the same respect for the land as the peasants themselves.Peter Michael Hornung, "Maleren, der gik sine egne veje", in "Ny Dansk Kunsthistorie", Vol. 4, p. 231 et seq., ''Forlaget Palle Fogtdal'', Copenhagen, 1993. He was awarded 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 1906.

Gallery

File:Smidth En fremmed spørger om vej i bondegården på heden 1877.jpg, ''A Stranger Asks for Directions to the Farm on the Heath'' (1877) File:Smidth Hedelandskab med en dagvogn 1913.jpg, ''Moor Landscape with a Coach'' (1913) File:Limfjorden Hans Schmidt.jpg, ''Ferry Crossing Sallingssund -

Limfjorden The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from ...

'' File:Stormklokkerne Hans Smidth.jpg, ''Storm Bells''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smidth, Hans 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters 20th-century Danish painters 1839 births 1917 deaths Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal 19th-century Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists