Knud Larsen 1865-1922 by Marius Christensen

Knud Erik Larsen (27 August 1865 – 7 December 1922) was a Danish painter.

Biography

Born in Vinderød near

Frederiksværk Frederiksværk is a town with a population of 12,837 (1 January 2025) in Halsnæs Municipality on Zealand in Region Hovedstaden in Denmark. History A French cannon founder, Peyrembert, received permission to build a cannon factory here. Having ...

, Denmark. He was the son of Jens Peter Larsen (1826–97) and Julie Sophie Olsen (1826–97). Larsen studied painting 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 ...

, graduating in 1889. He first exhibited at 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 ...

in 1887. Larsen exhibited at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

at Chicago in 1893, the

General Art and Industrial Exposition of Stockholm The General Art and Industrial Exposition of Stockholm of 1897 () also known as Stockholm Exhibition or Stockholm World's Fair (''Stockholmsutställningen'') was a World's Fair staged in 1897 in Stockholm, Sweden. Background On December 16, 1 ...

in 1897 and the

Baltic Exhibition The Baltic Exhibition () was held in Malmö, Sweden from 15 May to 4 October 1914. (The official closing date, September 30, was later extended by four days, as permitted in the general rules.) A Swedish world's fair The event showcased the indust ...

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

in 1914. Larsen travel to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

1889;

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and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

1891;

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

1898;

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the

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Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

1899. Larsen originally painted landscapes and genre images. He adopted a rather conservative but pleasant style which was particularly effective in his landscapes of the

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

countryside. His use of colour has been influenced by Hans Smidth and Vilhelm Kyhn, especially in his genre works such as ''Sommer. Børnene binder Kranse'' (1900) with bright Impressionist tones. He later moved increasingly towards portraiture, becoming one of the most popular portraitists of his day and often working for public and private institutions. His work embraced some of the most popular contemporary figures including

Vilhelm Thomsen Vilhelm Ludwig Peter Thomsen (25 January 1842 – 12 May 1927) was a Denmark, Danish linguistics, linguist and Turkologist. He successfully deciphered the Turkic Orkhon inscriptions which were discovered during the expedition of Nikolai Yadrintse ...

Harald Høffding Harald Høffding (11 March 1843 – 2 July 1931) was a Danish philosopher and theologian. Life Born Høffding was born in Copenhagen, the son of businessman Niels Frederik Høffding and Martha Høffding (née Jhellerup). The family lived at the ...

Axel Helsted Axel Theophilus Helsted (11 April 1847 – 17 February 1907) was a Danish painter. Biography Helsted was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of the painter Frederik Ferdinand Helsted. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ...

, Hans Smidth, L.A. Ring and

Theobald Stein Theobald Stein (7 February 1829 – 16 November 1901) was a Danish sculptor. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1883 to 1886. Among his most well-known works are the Niels Juel statue ...

. Larsen was appointed a member of the Royal Art Academy General Assembly in 1898 and served as a member of the Charlottenborg Palace Exhibition Committee during 1905–06, 1914–1922. He served as a member of the General Art School Council from 1911 to 1914 and as a member of the Royal Art Academy Council from 1908 until his death i 1922.

Personal life

In 1893, he married Frederikke Elisabeth Dall (1870-1963). Larsen died during 1922 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 ...

and was buried at

Assistens Cemetery An Assistens Cemetery () is a cemetery that functions as an expansion of another, older cemetery often in relation to a city church. Already by the end of the 17th century, Danish authorities deemed that the conditions for inner-city cemeteries we ...

Awards

Larsen was awarded the Neuhausens Prize in 1893,

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 1898,

Thorvaldsen Medal The Thorvaldsen Medal (Danish language, Danish: Thorvaldsens Medalje, Thorvaldsen Medaillen) is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest distinction within th ...

in 1901 and the Serdin Hansens Prize in 1901, 1905.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Knud 1865 births 1922 deaths 19th-century Danish painters Danish male painters People from Frederiksværk 20th-century Danish painters Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Burials at Assistens Cemetery (Copenhagen) 19th-century Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists