Olaf Rude (26 April 1886 – 17 June 1957) was a

Danish painter This is a list of Danish painters who were born in or whose creative production is associated with Denmark: A * Axel Aabrink (1887–1965) * Jørgen Aabye (1868–1959) * Carl Frederik Aagaard (1833–1895) * Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard (1 ...

. He was a professor at the

Royal Danish Academy of Art 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 ...

from 1953 to 1956. He is remembered in particular for his paintings of oak trees at Skejten on Lolland, two of which can be seen at

Christiansborg Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

Biography

He was born in an area then in the Russian Empire (now in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

). As a child, he moved with his family to Frejlev (

Guldborgsund Municipality Guldborgsund is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Sjælland in Denmark, created on 1 January 2007 from six (6) former municipalities on the two islands Lolland in the west and Falster in the east bordering the Guldborgsund strait. It ...

) on the island of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

. In 1905, he studied at the Copenhagen Technical School and later at the Kunstnernes Frie Studieskole where he was taught by

Kristian Zahrtmann Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Denmark, Danish Painting, painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and ...

and

Johan Rohde Johan Gudmann Rohde (1 November 1856 – 18 February 1935) was a Danish painter, lithographer and designer. He was the principal founder of Den Frie Udstilling, established in 1891 to allow artists to exhibit works which did not fall within the Ac ...

. In 1911, he travelled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he was inspired especially by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

. On returning to Denmark, he became one of the classic modernists who around the time of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

focused on formal representation concentrating on form, line and colour. His work was exhibited at

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 ...

's first exhibition in 1915. In 1919, he moved to

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

where he specialised in landscape painting and became a member of the

Bornholm school of painters The Bornholm school of painters (''Bornholmerskolen'') started to take shape towards the beginning of the 20th century on the Danish island of Bornholm when a number of artists developed a distinctive style of classic modernism, inspired by the i ...

. Rude was one of Denmark's most important modernists, sometimes called Denmark's

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

for his use of colour in his expressive landscapes.Carl Olaff Rude from Gravsted.dk
Retrieved 15 December 2008.

References

1886 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Danish painters Danish Impressionist painters Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Denmark {{Denmark-painter-stub