Johannes Carstensen (30 January 1924 — 26 December 2010) was a Danish painter. His stay in France in the 1950s encouraged him to adopt a Neo-impressionistic approach to his painting. In the 1960s, he moved to

Odsherred Odsherred is a peninsula in the north-western part of the island Zealand (Sjælland) in Denmark. Odsherred stretches from the Sjællands Odde in the north-west to the now drained Lammefjord in the south, covering an area with a wide range of the ...

where he became associated with the Odsherred Painters.

Biography

Born in

Sønderborg (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022),Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, Hansen attended the Technical School in

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 ...

before studying painting under Aksel Jørgensen at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dan ...

from 1950 to 1954. He travelled to Italy on a study trip in 1951 and went to France, Spain and North Africa in 1953. His work in the 1950s was inspired by Jørgensen and

Erik Hoppe Erik Hoppe (1896–1968) was a Danish painter who is remembered for his paintings from the Copenhagen area, especially those with young ladies in the park at Valby. Hoppe also mastered the effects of light and colour. His earlier work is typified ...

, leading to dark earthy tones though his landscapes tended towards shades of red and orange. During his trip to France, he became particularly interested in the works of Georges Braque and

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, inducing him to develop a Neo-impressionist approach to his work. In the 1960s, he moved to Odsherred where he associated with Karl Bovin and the Odsherred Painters. His landscapes became brighter while he began to adopt a

pointillist Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" wa ...

style. Many of his works contain motifs such as clowns, skulls, masks and boats, all covered in a naturalistic mode, sometimes approaching a non-figurative style. Carstensen has also worked with stained glass mosaics (for example in the theatre in Sønderborg) as well as an illustrator. Carstensen became a member of

Grønningen Grønningen is a Danish artists cooperative whose members arrange exhibitions and similar events. Founded in 1915, it is one of the oldest and most important groupings of its kind in Denmark and currently has 54 members. It is named after the stree ...

in 1958,

Corner Corner may refer to: People *Corner (surname) * House of Cornaro, a noble Venetian family (''Corner'' in Venetian dialect) Places *Corner, Alabama, a community in the United States *Corner Inlet, Victoria, Australia *Corner River, a tributary of ...

in 1970 and Koloristerne in 1992.

Awards

Carstensen received 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 1972.

References

External links

Cartensen's stained glass work in Sønderborg Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carstensen, Johannes 1924 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Danish painters People from Sønderborg Municipality Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Danish expatriates in France