Johannes Knud Ove Jais-Nielsen (23 April 1885 – 8 November 1961) was a Danish painter, designer and ceramist, best known for the religious figure groups that he designed for the Royal Copenhagen pottery.

Biography

Nielsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was married to artist

Ville Jais Nielsen Vilhelmine "Ville" Jais Nielsen (née Oppenheim; 1 May 1886 – 7 November 1949) was a Danish painter and sculptor. She is remembered for the many portraits of women she painted while in Sweden during the Second World War, marked by strong brushs ...

(née Oppenheim). He died at Gentofte Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark and is buried at Mariebjerg Cemetery.

Artistic career

Nielsen studied painting at the Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler under

Kristian Zahrtmann Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Danish painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and Theodor Esbern Phi ...

and Johan Rohde, but abandoned the academic style under the influence of modern art that he saw on his study trips.Ulla Grut, "Jais Nielsen"
Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved 30 January 2013. Nielsen made several excursions to important art centres, travelling to Berlin (1909) and Paris (1911–1914). In 1920 he travelled to Italy, where he took a particular interest in the Renaissance art. Nielsen's art was influenced by the

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

that he encountered in Paris. His paintings developed angular lines and fragmentation which, as in his early masterpiece ''Afgang'' (Departure), show a tendency towards

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

. His paintings are predominantly of figures in motion and represent a wide range of subjects, including the circus, a subject which had inspired many avant-garde painters, including Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and

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 ...

. His work ''Circus Performance. Acrobats'' (1916) depicts trapeze artists soaring weightlessly through the air."Jais Nielsen (1855–1961), Circus Performance, Acrobats, 1916"
Statens Museum for Kunst. Retrieved 30 January 2013. His trip to Italy in 1920 was the inspiration for monumental works such as ''Brylluppet i Kana'' ('' Marriage at Cana''). He also painted landscapes on

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

in a style resembling that of the other

Bornholm painters The Bornholm school of painters (''Bornholmerskolen'') started to take shape towards the beginning of the 20th century on the Danish island of Bornholm when a number of artists developed a distinctive style of classic modernism, inspired by the i ...

. From 1915 Nielsen created sculptures in the Cubist style. From 1921 to 1928 he was employed as a sculptor by the Royal Copenhagen porcelain factory, for whom he produced a series of ceramic sculptures on Biblical subjects"Johannes Knud Ove Jais-Nielsen"
Gravsted.dk. Retrieved 28 January 2013. which included ''the Good Samaritan'' and several versions of ''Jacob wrestling with the Angel''. His sculptures were widely applauded and, for a time, their fame overshadowed that of his paintings. As well as statuettes, Nielsen produced ceramic wares in a wide range of shapes and monochrome glazes including celadon, ironstone and

oxblood glaze Sang de boeuf glaze, or sang-de-boeuf, is a deep red colour of ceramic glaze, first appearing in Chinese porcelain at the start of the 18th century. The name is French, meaning " ox blood" (or cow blood), and the glaze and the colour sang de boeu ...

. These pots are decorated with figures, mainly in relief but also engraved or painted, generally representing Biblical subjects. According to Ulla Grut ''"The resulting figures, for example 'The Potter', have a vigour of modelling and monumental effect that overrides the boundary between painting and sculpture."'' Jais Nielsen decorated some of the Danish bookbinder

August Sandgren August Sandgren (1893 – 1934) was a Danish bookbinder. He was one of the best craftsmen of Denmark and a great designer who never compromised with the techniques of bookbinding. August Sandgren craft is in its beautiful and simple style in line ...

's vellum bindings in water colour.

Exhibitions

* In 1909 and 1910 Nielsen joined the group of socially oriented artists known as ''

De Tretten De Tretten (The Group of Thirteen), also De Tretten Kunstnere (The Thirteen Artists), was a grouping of young Danish artists who arranged their own exhibitions in Copenhagen from 1909 to 1912 in order to display works which would not have been accep ...

'' (The Group of Thirteen), exhibiting with them in 1909 and 1910. He later participated in modern art trends in Denmark but did not join the Danish artists' cooperative Grønningen. * In 1912 he exhibited at Salon d'Automne in Paris. * In 1960 an exhibition of his ceramics was held at Charlottenborg Palace, Copenhagen. * In 1986 Nielsen's painting ''Uscita!'' was the only work by a Danish artist represented in the ''Futurismo & Futurismi'' exhibition in Venice. * Also in 1986, there was a retrospective exhibition of his works at Galerie 1900-2000 in Paris. * In 2009, a large exhibition of his works was held at Bornholms Kunstmuseum. * Museums holding works by Nielsen include the National Art Museum of Denmark, the National Gallery of Norway in Oslo, and the Museum Lolland-Falster, Maribo, Denmark.

Awards

In 1925 Nielsen's work ''The Potter'' won the ''Grand Prix'' at the Paris Exhibition.GrothCollection
(accessed 12-02-2013) Jais Nielsen was awarded Eckersberg Medal (1929) and the Thorvaldsen Medal (1948).

References

External links