Carl Johan Wilhelm Madsen, commonly known as Karl Madsen, (22 March 1855 – 16 April 1938) was a Danish painter and art historian with close connections to the Skagen Painters.

Early life and education

Born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on 22 March 1855, Madsen was the son of painters Andreas Peter Madsen and Sophie Thorsøe Madsen. He completed his schooling at

Sorø Academy Sorø Academy ( Danish, ''Sorø Akademi'') is a boarding school and gymnasium located in the small town of Sorø, Denmark. It traces its history back to the 12th century when Bishop Absalon founded a monastery at the site, which was confiscated b ...

before attending C.V. Nielsen's art school in 1871. From 1872 to 1876, he studied 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 ...

. He was a student of Vilhelm Kyhn and of

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ra ...

at the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

(1876–1879).

Career

Madsen was greatly influenced in the early 1860s by the radical new departure in Danish culture, led by

Georg Brandes Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...

, whose lectures at

Copenhagen University The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

he followed, and

Holger Drachmann Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann (9 October 1846 – 14 January 1908) was a Danish poet, dramatist and painter. He was a member of the Skagen artistic colony and became a figure of the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough Movement. Early yea ...

, who published his strong views on

Danish art Danish art is the visual arts produced in Denmark or by Danish artists. It goes back thousands of years with significant artifacts from the 2nd millennium BC, such as the Trundholm sun chariot. For many early periods, it is usually considered ...

and on disappointing conditions at the Art Academy. In 1871, Drachmann went to

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skage ...

, a fishing village at the northernmost tip of

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 ...

, to paint outdoor scenes and the local fishermen. Almost simultaneously, Madsen also arrived in Skagen. During his first year at the Art Academy, he met

Michael Ancher Michael Peter Ancher (9 June 1849 – 19 September 1927) was a Danish realist artist, and widely known for his paintings of fishermen, the lakes, and other scenes from the Danish fishing community in Skagen. Early life and education Michael ...

, whom he persuaded to join him in Skagen in July 1874. There he gave Anna Brøndum, later Anna Ancher, lessons in painting. His art work in 1873–1874 and from 1879–1880 shows that he was one of the key figures among the Skagen Painters. His portraits had a vitality comparable to those of Michael and Anna Ancher and Christian Krohg, but he lacked the virtuosity and sense of colour enjoyed by

Peder Severin Krøyer Peder Severin Krøyer (; 23 July 1851 – 21 November 1909), also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter. Life Growing up and early training Krøyer was born in Stavanger, Norway, on 23 July 1851 to Ellen Cecilie Gjesdal. He was rai ...

Viggo Johansen Viggo Johansen (3 January 1851 – 18 December 1935) was a Danish painter and active member of the group of Skagen Painters who met every summer in the north of Jutland. He was one of Denmark's most prominent painters in the 1890s. Early life an ...

and the Swedish and Norwegian painters. His most interesting works are perhaps those from his last year in Paris where he came under the influence of the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name ...

and possibly

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Bo ...

, although they still tend to be rather dark and dull compared to the brighter works of the

Impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

who were influenced by the young Naturalists. The gap between Madsen and the trends of the times as well as his own economic problems were probably behind his decision to become a professional writer. On Drachmann's recommendation, he became an art critic with '' Dagavisen'' in 1881. As a frequent contributor to ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

'' and other periodicals, including ''

Tilskueren ''Tilskueren'' (Danish: ''The Spectator'') was a monthly cultural and literary magazine published in Copenhagen, Denmark, between 1884 and 1939. It was continuation of another magazine, ''Det nittende Aarhundrede'' (Danish: ''the Nineteenth Cent ...

'', he became one of Denmark's most influential art commentators and critics. He was a champion of Dutch art and wrote ''Japansk Malerkunst'' (1885), a pioneering book on the art of Japan. As a museum expert, Madsen became recognized as an authority on Dutch art and brought about a reassessment of Danish art in the first half of the 19th century, especially with his biography of

Johan Lundbye Johan Thomas Lundbye (1 September 1818 – 25 April 1848) was a Danish painter and graphic artist, known for his animal and landscape paintings. He was inspired by Niels Laurits Høyen's call to develop nationalistic art through depictions of De ...

in 1895. He was the director of

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 ...

from 1911 to 1925,"Karl Madsen"
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilback kunstnerleksikon'', Retrieved 12 August 2010. and director of

Skagens Museum Skagens Museum is an art museum in Skagen, Denmark, that exhibits an extensive collection of works by members of the colony of Skagen Painters who lived and worked in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Important artists include ...

from 1928 to 1938. Madsen received an honorary doctorate at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Order of the Dannebrog in 1909 and Commander 2nd Class in 1925.

Personal life

Madsen married twice. He married his first wife Johanne Henriette Møller on 3 June 1880 but she died on 9 March the following year during the birth of their first child. He then married Thora Juliane Nielsen (5 August 1858 – 9 December 1929) on 4 July 1883. They had four children, two sons and two daughters. Madsen's son by his first wife, Henry Sofus Madsen (1881–1921) was an egyptologist, journalist and editor. Another son, Svend Viggo Madsen (1885–1954) was also a painter. His elder daughter, Sofie Madsen (1887–1965) married the painter Arne Lofthus Madsen died on 16 April 1938 and was buried in

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

References

External links

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Karl Madsen
at geni.dk {{DEFAULTSORT:Madsen, Karl 1855 births 1938 deaths People from Copenhagen Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Modern painters Danish painters Skagen Painters Danish art historians Directors of museums in Denmark 19th-century Danish people Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog