Carl Frederik Aagaard was a Danish artist predominantly known for his accomplished renderings of leafy tree-lined vistas and majestic beech forests with rippling streams.
Born in Odense, the son of a shoemaker, he initially studied locally before travelling to Copenhagen to enrol at the prestigious Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. His early tuition was a formal affair with the emphasis placed upon drawing and studying models from antiquity. Students were expected to hone their technique by analysing the masters of old.
It appears he left early to pursue tuition under landscape painter, P. C. Skovgaard, known for his expansive portrayals of rural Denmark. Skovgaard studied nature first-hand, undertaking sketching tours during the warmer months before translating these into oils during Winter. There’s poetry to his works, a sense of lyricism - each tree conveyed with character and evocatively lit by brilliant Nordic light.
Aagaard was clearly enamoured as his own style echoes his teacher’s, both in terms of composition and subject. His forest views were typically enlivened with shimmering water gently progressing under a canopy of beech trees. While his open vistas were often verdant, airy, and equally precise.
At 24, he debuted at Denmark’s leading art exhibition, Charlottenborg Spring, where his works were shown for the next 39 years. His celebratory, sun-tipped, visions of the countryside were met with much acclaim, both from critics and patrons. The National Gallery of Denmark acquired his ‘Jægersborg Dyrehave’.
Aside from landscape painting, he also worked as a decorative painter, undertaking several significant commissions including projects at Aarhus Cathedral and the Royal Theater. He generally collaborated with several artists, executing the landscapes, while others completed the figures.
He’s represented in numerous public collections including the Nationalmuseum and Statens Museum for Kunst.
Exhibited
Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition, Artists' Association, Paris.
Public Collections
Nationalmuseum, Statens Museum for Kunst, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg.
Timeline
1833
Born in Odense, Denmark, to Ole Aagaard, a shoemaker, and Ane Ursula Aagaard (nee Thrane).
1847-1852
Studied in Odense.
1852
Studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Studied under landscape painter PC Skovgaard.
1857
Debuted at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition where he continued to exhibit until 1896.
Awarded the Neuhausen's Prize.
1858
Married Anna Emilie Eline Pio, the daughter of a violinist, in Kirke Såby.
1865
Awarded the Sødringske Opmuntrings Prize.
1870-1871
Undertook a study trip to Italy.
1874
Elected a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
1875-1876
Undertook a study trip to Italy.
Undertook a study trip to Norway.
1878
Shown in Paris.
1879
Knighted with the Order of the Dannebrog.
1882
Shown at the Artists' Association.
1892
Became a professor.
1895
Died in Copenhagen.