Johan Laurentz Jensen, often referred to as J. L. Jensen (8 March 1800 – 26 March 1856), 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 ...

artist who specialized in flower painting."J. L. Jensen"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 9 June 2011.

Early life and education

In parallel with his studies at 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 ...

, he became a pupil of

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark. He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Dani ...

and also of Cladius Detlev Fritzsch. Specializing in flower painting, Jensen continued his education in Paris under the Flemish flower painting brothers,

Gérard Gérard ( French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constitu ...

and

Cornelis van Spaendonck Cornelis van Spaendonck (7 December 1756 – 22 December 1839) was a Dutch painter who was a native of Tilburg. Spaendonck initially worked under artist Guillaume-Jacques Herreyns (1743–1827) in Antwerp, and in 1773 moved to Paris to stu ...

, and at the porcelain factory in Sèvres where he learnt the art of miniature flower painting.

Career

Taking 17th-century Dutch flower painting as a starting point, he revived the art in Denmark. His floral arrangements often had both a decorative and symbolic value. Danish plants were often accompanied by exotic flowers and fruits, sometimes even birds. He also became head artist at the Danish Porcelain Factory. Jensen had an extensive circle of customers and many students, especially women, including

Louise of Hesse-Kassel da, Louise Wilhelmine Frederikke Caroline Auguste Julie , succession = Queen consort of Denmark , image = Louise of Hesse-Kassel.jpg , reign = 15 November 1863 – 29 September 1898 , spouse = , issue = , house = ...

who later married

King Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

. Since the 1980s, his works have gained wide international recognition. Many are exhibited in

Statens Museum for Kunst The National Gallery of Denmark ( da, Statens Museum for Kunst, also known as "SMK", literally State Museum for Art) is the Danish national gallery, located in the centre of Copenhagen. The museum collects, registers, maintains, researches and han ...

and in

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 ...

Style

Jensen's flowers were typically arranged as a bouquet standing in a vase, usually on a tray. A dark neutral background helped to emphasize the light colourful tones of the flowers. Roses were often the principal subject, sometimes set off with another flower such as a lilly or with several flowers of different varieties. Jensen mastered the art of reproducing nature. His appreciation of earlier masterpieces can be seen in his own work. His paintings characteristically are rich in colour and variety. Some of them depict flowers lying on a table or in a basket, perhaps strung together in a wreath. While he was one of several artists who painted exotic plants from Rosenborg, he was happiest when he was painting out in the country at Gentofte, sometimes painting wild flowers or strawberries. Some of his works from the 1840s contain exotic fruits or even birds.

Personal life

Larsen married Signe Marie Vilhelmine Visby (1804-1884).

Selected works

The following works are displayed in

:Works by J.L. Jensen
, ''Statens Museum for Kunst''. Retrieved 11 June 2011. *''En ananas og andre frugter'' (1832) *''En kurv med frugter på en træstub'' (1844) *''En kårde med laurbærkrans'' (1848) *''En vase med blomster'' (1834) *''Forskellige frugter, blandt andet melon og vindruer'' (1852) *''Kamelier og rhododendron'' (1852) *''Skudt vildt'' (1846)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Johan Laurentz 1800 births 1856 deaths Painters from Copenhagen Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Danish still life painters Flower artists 19th-century Danish male artists