Oluf Hartmann (16 February 1879 – 16 January 1910) was a Danish painter. Trained 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 ...
in Copenhagen, he showed his works at important exhibitions in the 1900s.
Career
Hartmann was born in the house
Carlsminde in
Søllerød
Søllerød is a suburban district of Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. The original village, one of the oldest in the area, is perched on Søllerød Hill on the south side of Søllerød Lake. It merged with ...
, Denmark,
the son of composer
Emil Hartmann
Emil Hartmann (1 February 1836, Denmark – 18 July 1898, Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish composer of the romantic period, fourth generation of composers in the Danish Hartmann musical family.
Early life and education
Hartmann was born o ...
and grandson of composer
Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann
Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann (14 May 1805 – 10 March 1900) was, together with his son-in-law Niels W. Gade, the leading Danish composer of the 19th century. According to Alfred Einstein, he was ″the real founder of the Romantic movement in D ...
.
He grew up in a family where there was great interest in music, art, literature, and travel.
As a boy he revealed a talent for drawing,
and attended the Academy of
Gustav
Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to:
*Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film
* ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
and
Sophus Vermehren from 1896 to 1902, under the tutelage of
Frants Henningsen
Frants Peter Diderik Henningsen (22 June 1850, Copenhagen – 20 March 1908, Copenhagen) was a Danish painter, illustrator and professor. His paintings depict unfortunate occurrences in the lives of middle-class people living in Copenhagen during ...
. After completing studies there, he enrolled at
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 ...
’s school from 1902 to 1904, where he was exposed to an ''avant–garde'' art scene and was taught color and form processing.
He then studied for three years 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 ...
in Copenhagen.
During his short career, he made some study trips abroad in 1902–1909 to Italy, Belgium, Holland
and Paris.
He also stayed at his sister
Bodil de Neergaard
Ellen Bodil Neergaard née Hartmann (10 February 1867 – 18 May 1959) was a Danish philanthropist and patron of the arts. She is remembered for her many philanthropic activities as well as for her life in Fuglsang Manor on the island of Lolland ...
's
place at the
Fuglsang Manor
Fuglsang is a 19th-century manor house now operated by Det Classenske Fideicommis as a cultural centre as an active agricultural estate at Toreby on the island of Lolland, in southeastern Denmark. The estate was owned by members of the de Neerga ...
on the isle of
Lolland. The place hosted every Summer many artists and musicians of the day in Scandinavia. In the evening, concerts were organised in the large music room. Oluf Hartmann met there among others
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
and
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer.
Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...
.
His paintings frequently draw subjects from mythology or the Bible and mix traditional and modern styles, with classical outline and geometric composition holding figures which border abstract art.
The colors he used were muted, similar to paintings by
Delacroix,
Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...
and
Rembrandt.
Hartmann was seen as one of the up-and-coming artists of his generation and his works were well regarded by his peers.
André Salmon published after his death in Paris a collection of ten of Hartmann’s engravings together with an introduction and a biographical notice.
Some of his works feature images from the
Skejten Nature Reserve at Fuglsang. Though mostly in a small format, they are powerful with bright colours and a beautiful rendering of light. It is possible that Hartmann met
Olaf Rude
Olaf Rude (26 April 1886 – 17 June 1957) was a Danish painter. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art from 1953 to 1956. He is remembered in particular for his paintings of oak trees at Skejten on Lolland, two of which can be se ...
or other painting peers there, as Rude's parents had a farm near Fuglsang and he painted some of his most famous images from scenes at Skejten.
For a time his works were forgotten, but there has been a recent resurgence of interest in his art.
In his groundbreaking book on Danish art in the 20th century, art historian
Mikael Wivel singled out Hartmann as the starting point for the development of 20th century painting in Denmark. After Hartmann’s death there have been regular exhibitions of his works in Denmark, Scandinavia and several times in Italy.
He exhibited at the
Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition
The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg'').
Kunsthal Charlottenborg ...
in 1905 and 1907 at
Den Frie Udstilling
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 ass ...
in 1908 and 1909. He died 16 January 1910, in Copenhagen,
after an unsuccessful appendectomy.
Carl Nielsen wrote ''
At the Bier of a Young Artist
Carl Nielsen's ''At the Bier of a Young Artist'' (''Ved en ung Kunstners Baare'') for string orchestra, FS 58, was written for the funeral of the Danish painter Oluf Hartmann in January 1910.
Background
Oluf Hartmann was the son of composer Em ...
'' for his funeral.
After his death, his siblings founded the Oluf Hartmann's scholarship for young painters.
Selected works
* '', Portofino'' (1902 –
Fuglsang Art Museum
Fuglsang Art Museum ( da, Fuglsang Kunstmuseum) is an art museum set in rural surroundings in Guldborgsund Municipality on the island of Lolland in Denmark. It is part of the Fuglsang Cultural Centre. The museum features Danish art with an empha ...
)
* ' (ca. 1905 – Fuglsang Art Museum)
* ' (1906 –
ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum
The ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum is an art museum in Aarhus, Denmark. The museum was established in 1859 and is the oldest public art museum in Denmark outside Copenhagen. On 7 April 2004, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum opened with exhibitions in a brand new ...
)
* ' (1907 –
National Gallery of Denmark
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 ...
)
* ' lig (1907 – National Gallery of Denmark)
* ' lig (1907 –
Museum Jorn, Silkeborg
Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, (formerly Silkeborg Kunstmuseum) is an art museum located by Gudenåen in Silkeborg, Denmark. The museum holds the collections that were developed by Asger Jorn (1914–1973) from the early 1950s until his death in 1973, s ...
)
* ' (1908 –
Fyns Kunstmuseum)
* ' (1908 –
Carl Nielsen Museum
The Carl Nielsen Museum (''Carl Nielsen Museet'') is a museum in Odense, Denmark. The museum is located as an extension on the northwestern side of the Odense Concert Hall .
History
The museum operates as a part of the Odense City Museums. The ...
)
* ' (ca. 1909 – Fuglsang Art Museum)
* ' (1909)
* ' (1909 – Fuglsang Art Museum)
* ''Susanne'' (1909–10 – National Gallery of Denmark)
* drawings and etchings in Graphic Art at the National Gallery of Denmark
References
Further reading
* Bramsen, Henrik. "Oluf Hartmann (With reproductions and with a summary in English), Danske grafikere. no. 5, København, 1964 (In English and Danish)
External links
"Jacobs struggle with the angel" (1906)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartmann, Oluf
1879 births
1910 deaths
People from Rudersdal Municipality
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni
20th-century Danish painters
Burials at Holmen Cemetery
Hartmann family