Aage Bertelsen (28 September 1873 – 9 September 1945) was a
Danish painter. He was a member of the
Denmark Expedition to North-East Greenland. He has also worked for
Kähler Keramik
Kähler Keramik (Kähler Ceramics) is a Danish ceramics manufacturer based in Næstved on the island of Zealand.
History
Joachim Christian Herman Kähler (1808–84) from Heiligenhafen in the Duchy of Holstein established himself as a potte ...
in
Næstved
Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
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.
Biography
Early life and career
Aage Bertelsen was born in
Næstved
Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark
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, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
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where his father, the painter Rudolf Bertelsen, was an art teacher at the
Herlufsholm Bording School. From an early age he was taught to draw and paint by his father as well as by the painter
L.A. Ring
Laurits Andersen Ring (; 15 August 1854 – 10 September 1933) was one of the foremost Danish painters of the turn of the 20th century, who pioneered both symbolism and social realism in Denmark. Considered one of the masterpieces of Danish cult ...
who was a close friend of the family. He later attended
Zahrtmann's art school from 1892 to 1896 while working for Landvæsenet (1894–1897).
Zahrtmann accompanied him on a journey to Italy in 1897 and in 1899–1900 he visited Germany and France..
Bertelsen exhibited at
Charlottenborg's Spring Exhibition from 1899 to 1903 and at Kleis’ exhibition in 1901 and was a member of
Den Frie Udstilling from 1904.
Expedition to Greenland, 1906–1908
In 1906–1908, Bertelsen participated in the Denmark Expedition to northeastern
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...
. In 1908, an exhibition with Bertelsen's and
Achton Friis' works from the expedition was featured first at
Den Frie Udstilling in Copenhagen and later in
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwes ...
and
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 2 ...
. In 1909 it moved on to Berlin and other German cities and in 19010 it was exhibited by the
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
in London. Later exhibitions of their works from the expedition include an exhibition at the
Rudolph Tegner Museum
The Rudolph Tegner Museum is set in the middle of a protected area just south of Dronningmølle on Zealand's north coast, some 50 km north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The museum is dedicated to the oeuvre of the sculptor Rudolph Tegner (1873–19 ...
in 2011. A comprehensive extract from Friis' and Bertelsen's diaries was published in 2013.
In 1907 Bertelsen, together with
J.P. Koch, was reported to have first seen
Fata Morgana Land
Fata Morgana Land ( da, Fata Morgana Landet) is a phantom island first sighted in the Arctic, off the north-eastern coast of Greenland in 1907 by J.P. Koch and Aage Bertelsen. It has been reported between Greenland and Svalbard, at the northern ...
( da, Fata Morgana Landet), a
phantom island
A phantom island is a purported island which was included on maps for a period of time, but was later found not to exist. They usually originate from the reports of early sailors exploring new regions, and are commonly the result of navigati ...
supposedly lying between NE Greenland and Svalbard. This elusive land was allegedly seen as well by
Lauge Koch
Lauge Koch (5 July 1892 – 5 June 1964) was a Danish geologist and Arctic explorer.
Biography
Lauge Koch was born in 1892 to Karl and Elisabeth Koch. His development as a scientist was greatly influenced by his father's second cousin Johan Pet ...
from the air in 1933.
Later life
Back in Denmark, he settled in
Birkerød
Birkerød () is a town in Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is surrounded by several lakes and small woodlands. Birkerød station is located on the Hillerød radial of the S-train suburban network.
His ...
as a landscape painter. He was a co-founder of Kunst for Varer ("Art for Goods") in 1924 and was chairman of the organization until his death in 1945. He is buried at Birkerød Cemetery.
Honours
The
Aage Bertelsen Glacier
Bertelsen Glacier ( da, Bertelsen Gletscher) is a glacier in northern Greenland.Google Earth Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park. Between 2006 and 2010 there was an automatic weather station near the glacier.
The ...
, as well as
Cape Aage Bertelsen, a headland in
Queen Louise Land, were named in his honour.
[Place names, NE Greenland – GEUS](_blank)
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References
External links
Aage Bertelsen
at Kunstindeks Danmark
''Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon'' (Weilbach's Biographical Dictionary of Artists) is a Danish biographical dictionary of artists and architects. The current edition, which is also freely accessible online, contains the biographies of some 8,000 Dani ...
Aage Bertelsen
at Artnet
Artnet.com is an art market website. It is operated by Artnet Worldwide Corporation, which has headquarters in New York City, in the United States, and is owned by Artnet AG, a German publicly traded company based in Berlin that is listed on ...
Næstved Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertelsen, Aage
Danish painters
People from Næstved Municipality
1873 births
1945 deaths