Johannes Holbek (13 November 1872, in Årby, near

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,659 (1 January 2025),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 ...

) was a Danish painter and graphic artist.

Biography

His father was a parish priest. He graduated from the

Roskilde Cathedral School Roskilde Cathedral School () is a historic high school in Roskilde, Denmark. It was established around 1020 with close connections to Roskilde Cathedral. The school has since 1969 been located on Holbækvej in the western part of the city while its ...

in 1891 and was admitted to the

Copenhagen Technical College NEXT Education Copenhagen former Copenhagen Technical College ( Danish: NEXT Uddannelse København or just NEXT, former Københavns Tekniske Skole, KTS) is a school of secondary education in Copenhagen, Denmark. The school offers educational progr ...

the following year, where he studied with the artist, . In 1893, he spent one semester at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () 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 Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

with Frederik Vermehren.Biographical Notes
@ Kunstindeks Danmark. That same year, he was influenced by an exhibition 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 asso ...

, featuring the works of

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

and

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

. As a result, he made several visits to Paris and

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and, from 1901 to 1902, studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

with

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

and

Gustave Moreau Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism ...

, who was especially important to the development of his style. He also spent some time in the workshops of

Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (; 24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biog ...

and illustrated ''

Enoch Arden ''Enoch Arden'' is a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published in 1864 during his tenure as British poet laureate. The story on which it was based was allegedly provided to Tennyson by Thomas Woolner. The poem lends its name to a ...

'' by

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

. Upon returning home, he provided cartoons for the newspapers ''København'' 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 ...

'',Biographical notes
@ Den Store Danske. but his paintings were rejected by Den Frie Udstilling and the

Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg''). Kunsthal Cha ...

. An attempt to find employment at the ''

Fliegende Blätter The ' ("Flying Leaves"; also translated as "Flying Pages" or "Loose Sheets") was a German weekly humor and satire magazine appearing between 1845 and 1944 in Munich. Many of the illustrations were by well-known artists such as Wilhelm Busch, Cou ...

'' was also unsuccessful. During this time, he illustrated and wrote the text for two works; ''Omkring Midlet'' (About the Means) and ''Dekadent Barbari'' (Decadent Barbarism), which were published posthumously by his friend, Jens Lund. They consist of mostly satirical stories that have been cited as an influence on the works of

Robert Storm Petersen Robert Storm Petersen (19 September 1882 – 6 March 1949) was a Danish cartoonist, writer, animator, illustrator, painter and humorist. He is known almost exclusively by his pen name Storm P. Biography He was the son of a butcher ...

. In 1903, he was unexpectedly dismissed from ''Politiken''. He had been intensively involved with the creation of a set of books that would summarize his life and philosophy, and was already overworked, so this new setback precipitated a physical and mental breakdown. He was admitted to

Copenhagen Municipal Hospital Copenhagen Municipal Hospital ( Danish: Københavns Kommunehospital) was a hospital that existed from 1863 until 1999 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its buildings, located on Øster Farimagsgade, opposite Copenhagen Botanical Garden, now form part of th ...

and died there a few days later, of unspecified causes. A memorial exhibition was held at Den Frie Udstilling in 1904.

Asger Jorn Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. The largest collection of Jorn's works� ...

was an admirer of his works and many of them may be seen at the

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 ...

Selected works

File:Johannes Holbek self-portrait January 1892.jpg, Self-portrait File:Holbek-Laugh.jpg, The Laugh Council File:Holbek-Hunt.jpg, The Hunt for Happiness Planten 1894 by Johannes Holbek.jpg, The Plant

References

External links

''Dekadent barbari''
@ Den Store Danske.
Johannes Holbek
@ Skeel-Schaffalitzky, Santasilia

@ the Vejen Art Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Holbek, Johannes 1872 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Danish illustrators 20th-century Danish illustrators 19th-century Danish painters 20th-century Danish painters Danish male painters Danish political artists Danish satirists People from Kalundborg Municipality École des Beaux-Arts Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni