''Summer Evening on Skagen's Southern Beach'' () is a painting 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 a single mother, Ellen Cecilie Gjes ...

(1851–1909), from 1893, and is counted as one of his masterpieces. Krøyer was one of the most notable members of the Danish artistic community known as the

Skagen Painters The Skagen Painters () were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scenic nature, local mi ...

. The works of Krøyer often emphasise the special effects of the Skagen light, with several memorable works depicting beach scenes.

History

Peder Severin Krøyer was born in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, Norway, but spent his childhood with his aunt in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark. The

were a group of Danish artists who formed an

artists' colony Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission- ...

in the little Danish village of

Skagen Skagen () is the northernmost town in Denmark, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in North Denmark Region, Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalbo ...

, where they made a habit of returning to paint every summer, and Krøyer was part of this artistic community. Krøyer started painting in Skagen in the summer of 1882 and settled there permanently in 1889, after marrying Marie Triepcke. He became the central member of the group.

Painting

The painting itself was inspired by a walk along the beach by

Anna Ancher Anna Ancher (18 August 1859 – 15 April 1935) was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artist colony on the northern point of Jylland, Denmark. She is considered to be one of Denmark's greatest visual artists. Background An ...

and

Marie Krøyer Marie Triepcke Krøyer Alfvén (11 June 1867 – 25 May 1940) commonly known as Marie Krøyer, was a Danish Painting, painter. She is remembered principally as the wife of Peder Severin Krøyer, one of the most successful members of the artists' ...

after a dinner party at the Krøyers' home in the summer of 1892 when the guests had gone down to the shore to enjoy the pleasant evening. In 1990, an exhibition by the

Hirschsprung Collection The Hirschsprung Collection ( Danish: Den Hirschsprungske Samling) is an art museum located on Stockholmsgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in a parkland setting in Østre Anlæg, near the Danish National Gallery, and houses a large coll ...

revealed that the painting had in fact been based on photographs of the two ladies taken by Krøyer. Until then, no one had imagined it was related to the artist's interest in photography. After painting four preparatory works, Krøyer completed the full-size work in September 1893. In a letter to the writer

Sophus Schandorph Sophus Christian Frederik Schandorph (or Skamdrup), known simply as Sophus Schandorph, (8 May 1836 – 1 January 1901), Danish poet and novelist, was born at Ringsted in Zealand. He was one of the men of "the Modern Break-through." Biography Scha ...

and his wife, who had been guests at the dinner party, he explained: "After I had painted studies of various kinds for it for about a month, one beautiful morning I started to paint up on the canvas and on the evening of the fourth day the picture was as it stands." The painter Anna Ancher and the artist's wife were strolling on

's Southern Beach during the

blue hour The blue hour (from French ; ) is the period of twilight (in the morning or evening, around the nautical stage) when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon. During this time, the remaining sunlight takes on a mostly blue shade. Th ...

, when the horizon is almost dissolved in the evening mist and dispersed blue light, reflected in the sea. Krøyer described the time of the evening when the two sources of natural light could be captured together as a particular favourite. Krøyer's style was influenced by the

Impressionist movement Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject ...

during his travels to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, although he developed a style of his own. In Denmark he gained a reputation particularly for his beach scenes, for his paintings of the fishermen, and lively gatherings of the artists.

Provenance

The painting was owned by the opera singer

Lilli Lehmann Lilli Lehmann (born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch; 24 November 1848 – 17 May 1929) was a German operatic dramatic coloratura soprano. She was also a voice teacher and animal welfare advocate. Biography The fu ...

, and in 1978 was sold to the German newspaper magnate

Axel Springer Axel Cäsar Springer (2 May 1912 – 22 September 1985) was a German publisher and founder of what is now Axel Springer SE, the largest media publishing firm in Europe. By the early 1960s his print titles dominated the West German daily press m ...

for DKK 520,000. In 1986 Springer's

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

, not herself Jewish, donated the painting to the Danish people in remembrance of the 1943

rescue of the Danish Jews The Danish resistance movement, with the assistance of many Danish citizens, managed to evacuate 7,500 of Denmark's 8,000 Jews, plus 686 non-Jewish spouses, by sea to nearby Sweden during World War II, neutral Sweden during the Second World War. ...

from the Nazis. At that time Danish civilians together with the

Danish resistance movement The Danish resistance movements () were an underground insurgency to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the initially lenient arrangements, in which the Nazi occupation authority allowed the democratic govern ...

risked their own lives to evacuate 7,220 of Denmark's 7,800 Jews by sea to nearby neutral

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

.Leo Goldberger: ''The Rescue of the Danish Jews: Moral Courage Under Stress'', NYU Press, 1987, preface pages XX-XXI
Linked 2014-04-29 The painting is held by

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 M ...

Auction of preparatory work

In November 2012, one of the preparatory paintings for the main work measuring only 45 by 47 cm was sold by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

for £493,250, more than twice the estimate. Once owned by Queen Margherita of Italy, the work was rediscovered when her granddaughter

Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy Princess Maria Beatrice of Savoy (born 2 February 1943) is the youngest daughter of Italy's last King, Umberto II, and his wife, Queen Marie-José. Life Born Principessa Maria Beatrice Elena Margherita Ludovica Caterina Romana di Savoia, she ...

auctioned it at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

in April 2012.

References

Literature

Skagens museum

External links

In the footsteps of Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer at Skagen
{{Skagen Painters Paintings by Peder Severin Krøyer 1893 paintings Collection of the Skagens Museum 19th-century paintings in Denmark Water in art