Harald Rudyard Engman (1903-1968) was a Danish artist, painter. Above all, he is remembered for his fierce use of satire in criticizing and resisting the German occupation of Denmark during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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Biography

Little has been published about Engman's life. It is known that he traveled as a working seaman and spent some time living in New York City's Chinatown around 1920. He began to show paintings 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 ...

in the mid-1920s. He became part of a group of self-styled "Underground Painters". His shows always inspired controversy as he utilized caricature and satire to mercilessly criticize social ills and those in power, especially the growing power of the Nazi Party in Germany. These shows culminated in 1940 with the "Black Banners" show in Copenhagen aimed directly at the Nazi leadership. Refusing to remain silent about Hitler, Engman "depicted Der Fuhrer, not as a genius of satanic majesty, as many Danish Anti-Nazis saw him, but as a psychopathic misfit, a frightened and conceited fool, sort of a ludicrous master clown of the world's arena." Following this show Engman was forced into exile in the North

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

and eventually fled occupied Denmark for

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 ...

where he remained through the war. In Sweden he continued to criticize the Nazis with his art, painting and contributing drawings to the journal ''The Dane'' as well as some Swedish publications.

Artistic style and works

Engman's artistic style was fiercely independent and self-taught. He did not move in the modern directions of surreal or abstract art, nor was he following the traditional Danish folk painters. His style combines a keen sense of caricature occasionally verging on the comic with a real mastery of the use of light and color to evoke emotion.

References

Literature

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External links

Examples of Engman's paintingsHigh-Resolution zoomable annotated version of the Human Pyramid painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engman, Harald 1903 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Danish painters Danish satirists Danish political artists Danish caricaturists Danish editorial cartoonists