This mid-19th-century oil painting by Danish artist Carl Frederik Aagaard (1833-1895) depicts a leafy view at Dyrehaven (the Deerpark), north of Copenhagen. It’s an accomplished work rendered in gentle tonal shifts.
Born in Odense, the son of a shoemaker, Aagaard 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. Here, in this piece from 1869, he’s created interest by selecting a composition that includes a partially obscured track passing behind trees. A sunlit silver birch catches the eye, while a feathery array of branches draws us towards a distant tinted forest.
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.
Signed/dated lower left and held within a gilt frame, which is probably original.
Learn more about Carl Frederik Aagaard in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 29½” x 22½” / 75cm x 57cm
Year of creation: 1869
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed with title on reverse.
Provenance: Private collection, Denmark.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Cleaned. Fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. Frame with marks and signs of age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £43,510 for ‘View of the Bay of Naples with a Monk and a Clergyman (1885)’, Oil on canvas, Copenhagen, 2007 (Lot 190).
Our reference: BRV1723
