Richard Mortensen (23 October 1910 – 6 January 1993) was a Danish painter.

Biography

Richard Strange Mortensen 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 Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He studied between 1931 and 1932 at the

Royal Danish Academy of Art 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 ...

in Copenhagen. Influenced by the works of

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

, he developed an

abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

style. In Copenhagen, Mortensen was joint founder of the " Linien" school of abstract painters. In 1937, he undertook a study trip to

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 ...

, where he met pioneers of

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, such as

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

Roger Vitrac Roger Vitrac (; 17 November 1899 – 22 January 1952) was a French surrealist playwright and poet. Early life Roger Vitrac was born in Pinsac on 17 November 1899, before his family moved to Paris in 1910.:527 As a young man, he was influenced b ...

, Gala Éluard,

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901, Paris – 30 September 1990, Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with Geor ...

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

Raymond Queneau Raymond Auguste Queneau (; ; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo (), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau, the only child of Auguste Que ...

and

André Masson André-Aimé-René Masson (; 4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist. Biography Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brus ...

. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, Mortensen's works reflected the violence of Europe. After the death of his wife Sonja Hauberg, in 1947 moved to Paris remaining there until 1964. Together with

Robert Jacobsen Robert Julius Tommy Jacobsen (4 June 1912 – 26 January 1993) was a Danish sculptor and painter. The Danish Robert Award is named in his honor. Biography In this period he created massive granite and sandstone structures which he called "M ...

, Mortensen became connected to the Galerie

Denise René Denise René (born Denise Bleibtreu; June 1913 – 9 July 2012) was a French art gallerist specializing in kinetic art and op art. Life and work Denise René believed that art must invent new paths in order to exist. The first exhibitions organ ...

in Paris, which became famous for concrete art. His later works are concrete works of art characterised by large, clear, bright colour surfaces. After his return to Denmark in 1964, he received a professorship at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, which he held until 1980. Mortensen was awarded the

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...

Prize (1946), the

Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

prize (1950), the

Prince Eugen Medal The Prince Eugen Medal () is a medal conferred by the King of Sweden for "outstanding artistic achievement". The medal was established in 1945 by the then King of Sweden, Gustaf V, in connection with the eightieth birthday of his brother Prince ...

(1967) and the

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 ...

(1968). In 1945, he married author and poet Sonja Hauberg (1918–1947). They were the parents of literary researcher and professor Finn Hauberg Mortensen (1946–2013). Richard Mortensen died at Ejby in

Lejre Municipality Lejre Municipality () is a '' kommune'' in the Region Zealand of Denmark. The current municipality was established on 1 January 2007 as a result of ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merging the former Lejre Municipality wi ...

References

Other Sources

Article at Encyclopædia Britannica
* Richard Mortensen : Erindringens år 1958-1993 I-II Ting og tegn / Jan Würtz Frandsen. * Richard Mortensen : l'Oeuvre graphique 1942-1993 / af Jan Würtz Frandsen. 1995. 1910 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Danish painters Painters from Copenhagen Danish abstract painters Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal {{Denmark-painter-stub

Biography

See also

References

Other Sources