Theodor Esbern Philipsen (10 June 18403 March 1920) was a Danish painter of Jewish ancestry; known for landscapes and animal portraits. He also did small figures in wax and clay.

Biography

Theodor Philipsen was born at

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 a ...

to a cultured merchant family and learned to draw at an early age.Theodor Philipsen
''Kunstindeks Danmark'' At first, however, he was primarily interested in animals, so he went to study agriculture at his uncle's estate near

Slangerup Slangerup is a town in Frederikssund Municipality, about 30 km north-west of central Copenhagen, in the Region Hovedstaden, Capital Region of Denmark. The town of Slangerup The town was established by the Viking Slangir at the time of Harold ...

. In the 1860s, one of his brothers introduced him to the painter,

Hans Smidth Hans Ludvig Smidth (2 October 1839, Nakskov – 5 May 1917, Frederiksberg) was a Danish painter. He is remembered above all for his paintings of Jutland and its local inhabitants. Biography Smidth was the son of the city bailiff of Skive, Edva ...

, which made him decide to become an artist. He began his studies 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 ...

with Carl Bøgh and later came under the influence of

Frederik Vermehren Johan Frederik (Frits) Nikolai Vermehren, also known as Frederik Vermehren (12 May 1823 – 10 January 1910), a genre and portrait painter in the realist style. His artistic career took place during the period of Danish art known as the Golden ...

. He was also familiar with the animal portraits of Johan Thomas Lundbye and the 17th-century painter

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point. Before Potter died of tuberculosis at the age of 28 he succeeded in ...

.Theodor Esbern Philipsen
''Den Store Danske'' In 1873, he was awarded the for his painting of horses swimming. In the 1880s, he began painting en

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

and began to show some elements of

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

. At the age of thirty-five, concerned that his images were not realistic enough, he went to Paris to study with

Léon Bonnat Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat (20 June 1833 – 8 September 1922) was a French painter, Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur and professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Early life Bonnat was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in M ...

. There, he practiced intensive croquis drawing; to capture the basics of position and movement. He also obtained knowledge of the radical trends in French art through his friend, Rémy Cogghe, with whom he spent some time in Spain and Italy. This all came together in a distinctive style. His favorite places for painting were Saltholm and

Amager Amager ( or, especially among older speakers, ) in the Øresund is Denmark's most densely populated island, with more than 212,000 inhabitants (January 2021) a small appendage to Zealand. The protected natural area of ''Naturpark Amager'' (includi ...

. In the winter of 1884–1885,

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 ...

made a visit to Copenhagen. Philipsen approached him for some advice and was shown how to use small brushes with quick, firm strokes. They remained friends for life. In 1890, he 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 ...

. Around 1905, he began to suffer from an eye disease that interfered with his ability to paint. In 1915, he was awarded the

Thorvaldsen Medal The Thorvaldsen Medal ( Danish: Thorvaldsens Medalje, Thorvaldsen Medaillen) is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest distinction within the visual arts. I ...

. He is generally credited with establishing Impressionism as an important aspect of Danish painting. He died in Copenhagen and was buried at

Holmen Cemetery Holmen Cemetery (Danish: Holmens Kirkegård) is the oldest cemetery still in use in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first located next to the naval Church of Holmen in the city centre but relocated to its current site on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé in t ...

Selected paintings

File:Theodor Philipsen - Long Shadows. Cattle on the Island of Saltholm - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Long Shadows
Cattle on the Island of Saltholm'' File:Theodor Philipsen Landevej ved Faarevejle 1900. Odsherreds Kunstmuseum.jpg, ''Road at Fårevejle '' File:Malkeplads ved Dyrehavegård.jpg, ''Milking at Dyrehavegård,
near

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading