Mogens Ballin (20 March 1871, Copenhagen – 27 January 1914,

Hellerup Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compr ...

) was a Danish artist, one of a group of painters who gathered in the Breton village of

Pont-Aven Pont-Aven (, Breton: 'River Bridge') is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,821. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called ''Pontavenistes'' in French ...

. He later became a notable silversmith designing jewelry and lamps.Jørn Otto Hansen, "Mogens Ballin"
''Kunstindeks Danmark og Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 10 May 2012.

Biography

Ballin came from a well-to-do Jewish family in Copenhagen. Of particular importance to his future were the French lessons he had with

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

's wife, Mette, in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

. Thanks to the works of Gauguin he saw in her apartment, he was able to follow the most important trends in French Impessionist art. In 1889, he went to Paris where he met Gauguin and his friends who together made up the

Nabis Nabis ( grc-gre, Νάβις) was the last king of independent Sparta. He was probably a member of the Heracleidae, and he ruled from 207 BC to 192 BC, during the years of the First and Second Macedonian Wars and the eponymous " War against Nab ...

group of artists. Ballin-landskab

At a celebration for Gauguin in March 1891, he met the Dutch painter

Jan Verkade Johannes Sixtus Gerhardus (Jan) Verkade (18 September 1868 - 19 July 1946), afterwards Willibrord Verkade O.S.B., was a Dutch Post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter. A disciple of Paul Gauguin and friend of Paul Sérusier, he belon ...

who had a marked influence on the development of his career. The two young artists decided to go to Brittany together, staying at the Pension Gloanec in

. Later they joined

Paul Sérusier Paul Sérusier (9 November 1864 – 7 October 1927) was a French painter who was a pioneer of abstract art and an inspiration for the avant-garde Nabis movement, Synthetism and Cloisonnism. Education Sérusier was born in Paris. He studied ...

Huelgoat Huelgoat (; meaning "High Forest") is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Huelgoat are called in French ''Huelgoatains''. Geography Huelgoat is popular with tourists and holida ...

where they came into contact with Georges Rasetti (1889–1957). They also went to Le Pouldu where they completed a number of Synthetist landscapes under Sérusier's leadership. Together with

Maxime Maufra Maxime Maufra (17 May 1861 – 23 May 1918) was a French landscape and marine painter, etcher and lithographer. Life Maufra first began painting at 18. He was encouraged to do so by two artists from Nantes such as the brothers Charles Ledu ...

and

Charles Filiger Charles Filiger (28 November 1863, Thann – 11 January 1928, Brest) was a French Symbolist painter. He was one of the artists who associated with Gauguin at Pont-Aven in Brittany. Biography The son of a wallpaper manufacturer in Mulhouse, Fili ...

, they hoped to embark on a new form of art. Though they were never able to achieve it, it was apparently an early attempt at

abstract painting Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19t ...

. In May 1892, Ballin went to Saint-Nolff with Verkade, producing a number of small landscapes and many drawings. Later that year, he traveled to Italy where became a Roman Catholic, being baptized in

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

near Florence in January 1893. He then returned to Copenhagen where he supported religious ideals, contributing to the periodical '' Taarnet''. Together with Verkade, he helped

Johannes Jørgensen Jens Johannes Jørgensen (6 November 1866, in Svendborg – 29 May 1956) was a Danish writer, best known for his biographies of Catholic saints. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Early days Johannes Jørgensen was ...

to achieve his breakthrough. In 1899, he opened a workshop for metalwork together with

Siegfried Wagner Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930. Life Siegfried Wagner ...

, finding inspiration from Willumsen and contributing to the Danish version of Jugentstil, in particular working with tin and silver and producing lamps and jewelry. His efforts provided inspiration for

Georg Jensen Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 in Rådvad – 2 October 1935 in Copenhagen) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie). Early life Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife gr ...

and Just Andersen (1884–1943).

Style of painting

Although Ballin did not produce many paintings, his work clearly played a role in developing the trends of the Nabi artists with his use of pure color, blue background tones, false perspective, and the high horizons in his landscapes. His portraits, influenced by

show his religious aspirations and latent mysticism. They have the appearance of modern Byzantine icons. In Paul Sérusier's words, "Ballin has an approach which is strange and serious, rich and fanciful."Claude Jeancolas, ''La Peinture des Nabis'', Paris, FVW Edition, 2002.

References

External links

ArtNet: Designs by Ballin.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballin, Mogens 19th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish metalsmiths Post-impressionist painters Danish male painters Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism Danish Jews Jewish Danish artists Danish Roman Catholics Jewish painters 1871 births 1914 deaths Artists from Copenhagen Pont-Aven painters 19th-century Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists