Kaj Ejstrup (20 February 1902 – 23 November 1956) was a Danish artist, illustrator and sculptor. Above all, he is remembered for the landscapes he painted in the north west of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

as a member of the

artists' colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...

known as the

Odsherred Painters Odsherred Painters ( da, Odsherredsmalerne) is a term applied to Danish artists from various periods with connections to Odsherred in the northwest of Zealand, Denmark. Some were born there while others settled in the area or painted there. While ...

. In 1932, he was one of the founding members of the

Corner artists association The Corner painters in Denmark first came together in 1932 when they decided to hold an exhibition in a meeting hall inside an office building on the corner of Vester Voldgade and Studiestræde in the centre of Copenhagen. The group was soon refer ...

. Much of his work can be seen at Odsherreds Museum of Art.

Biography

The adopted son of a customs official, Ejstrup was brought up in

Buddinge Buddinge is a suburb 10 km northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The suburb used to be a small village, but by the 1960s merged with nearby suburban areas, subsequently becoming a suburb. The suburb is part of Gladsaxe municipal and is co ...

, north of Copenhagen. A self-taught painter, he was unsuccessful in gaining admission to 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 Dani ...

but learnt

wood engraving Wood engraving is a printmaking technique, in which an artist works an image or ''matrix'' of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and ...

under Aksel Jørgensen in various periods from 1931 to 1937. He debuted in 1926 at the

Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling Den Frie Udstilling ('The Free Exhibition') is a Danish artists' association, founded in 1891 by artists in protest against the admission requirements for the Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Modeled on the Salon des Refusés, it is Denmark's oldest asso ...

(Artists' Autumn Exhibition) and was a founding member of the Corner exhibition in 1932. In 1930, he settled in Åsen near Ordrup in

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 m ...

together with

Karl Bovin Karl (Kalle) Christian Bovin (1907–1985) was a Danish painter whose work focused on landscapes of Odsherred, a region in the north-west of Zealand. In the 1930s, he became a central member in the Odsherred Painters artists' colony and helped ...

and later bought an old homestead near Skamlebæk where he lived until 1944. Thereafter, every year he spent extensive periods in Odsherred.

Artistic style and works

Ejstrup's evocative scenes of the peaceful countryside are painted with a rather limited palette. They often include buildings, outhouses, farm animals and the occasional human figure but most impressively they sometimes feature horses, often running or jumping about, giving the works a dramatic effect. By contrast, his figure paintings are more vividly coloured and have an expressive tone. His engravings include ''Tolv træsnit fra byen'' (Twelve Woodcuts from the City, 1935). Ejstrup's paintings, woodcuts, sculptures and drawings can be seen in many of Denmark's art museums.

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 ...

has a large collection of his works. His work has been widely exhibited in Denmark as well as in Glasgow, Oslo and Gothenburg. Ejstrup 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 1954.

References

Literature

External links

Examples of Ejstrup's paintings from Corner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejstrup, Kaj 1902 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Danish painters Artists from Copenhagen Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal