Hans Carl Jensen (1887–1961) was a Danish painter and newspaper illustrator. His debut was at Kunsternes Efterårsudstilling in 1915. With his early compositions, he was one of those who brought

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

to Denmark. He worked as an illustrator for a variety of newspapers and journals including '' Klods-Hans'', '' Gnisten'', '' Blæksprutten'', ''

Ekstra Bladet is a Danish tabloid newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen.About
(in Danish) . Retrieved 22 Se ...

'' and ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

''.

Biography

Hans Carl Jensen was born 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. His parents were Christen Søren Jensen and Ane Margrethe Christensen. Jensen started to sketch before he was 20, contributing to the leading joke sheet ''Klods-Hans''. He was a student at the Frede Aamodt studio 1905-06. From 1905 to 1958, he worked as an illustrator for the Copenhagen papers. Initially, together with Aksel Jørgensen and Axel Nygaard, his sketches were directed at depicting the dreadful conditions for the poor. Later, during his 40 years with ''Politiken'', he was more of a bipartisan cartoonist although he was still critical of the upper classes, especially the Liberal Party. He was behind a long series of caricatures of Prime Minister

Niels Neergaard Niels Thomasius Neergaard (27 June 1854 – 2 September 1936) was a Danish historian and political figure, a member of the Liberal Moderate Venstre and since 1910 of Venstre. He served as Council President of Denmark between 1908 and 1909 ...

and Interior Minister Oluf Krag before the 1924 elections. He also contributed sketches to news reports, including illustrations of court rooms where photography was not allowed. His caricatures included cartoons of many of his artist friends from 1909 to 1920, published in ''Ekstra Bladet'', and of Danish and foreign politicians, in ''Politiken''. Initially his work was inspired by the satirical journal ''

Simplicissimus :''Simplicissimus is also a name for the 1668 novel ''Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus, Simplicius Simplicissimus'' and its protagonist.'' ''Simplicissimus'' () was a German language, German weekly satire, satirical magazine, founded by Albert ...

'' but he soon found his own style, characterized by the quick, clear lines he used to depict in his cool, unemotional way the changing expressions and typical gestures of the figures of the day. At the beginning of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was one of the first to bring Cubism to Denmark. In 1918, he left ''Ekstra Bladet'' to move to ''

Tisvilde Tisvilde is a small town with a population of 1,385 (1 January 2024) William Scharff Niels William Scharff (30 October 1886 – 20 September 1959) was a Danish painter, one of the leading proponents of Cubism in Denmark. Early life After training as a painter at Copenhagen's Technical School, Scharff attended Kristian Zahrtmann ...

also worked, becoming one of the country's most important Cubists. Around 1920, he began painting watercolours and gouaches of Copenhagen's harbour and canals. He was awarded 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 ...

in 1944. In 1930, he married Meretha Paulsen (1901-87). Their daughter, Lise Warburg (born 1932) is a textile artist and writer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Carl 20th-century Danish illustrators 1887 births 1961 deaths Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal 20th-century Danish painters