Hailing from Copenhagen, Groth was an accomplished academy-trained painter primarily known for landscapes.

Working during a transitional period for Danish art, Groth wrestled with the legacy of the past while also embracing the emerging ideas of the present. He trained formally at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where students were urged to hone their draughtsmanship and look back for inspiration.

The Golden Age

At the time, artists were working in the shadows of the great Golden Age painters, such as P. C. Skovgaard (1817-1875) and J. L. Lund (1777-1867) who produced grandiose views elevated with a sense of national pride and idealism.

In P.C. Skovgaard’s ‘View of Skarre Sø’ (1845), each element is impeccably poised, like actors on a stage, to create a composite image of breathtaking beauty. The sky is radiant, almost Italian, while the limber trees stretch and lean to provide an aesthetically pleasing frame.

P. C. Skovgaard, Udsigt Over Skarre Sø (1845)

It’s enchanting but is it ‘real’? This was the question on the lips of younger artists keen to make their mark. Particularly those who were lured by the bright lights of Paris. In 1872, together with two friends, Godfred Christensen and Christian Zacho, Groth travelled to France where he spent the next six years.

French Realism

Here, it was altogether different due to the emergence of ‘realism’ in landscape painting, whereby artists, such as Charles-François Daubigny (1817-1878), were working predominantly outside to catch the shifting effects of light. They dismissed the ideologies of previous generations and painted from life. The result was a quicker dabbed mark, less fidelity, and more humility. Groth was energised and integrated these new ideas into his approach.

Charles-Francois Daubigny, The Pond at Gylieu (1853)

His contemporaries were divided in their opinions with some still clinging to their formal training and others keen to progress. Discussions came to a head in 1876, when Groth published an article in reaction to the views of Vilhelm Kyhn (1819-1903) who had dismissed the French painters. Groth’s view was that each age has its own set of contemporary influences and the past should be left where it is.

He was particularly successful during his extensive career, exhibiting annually at Denmark’s foremost show, the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition. His painting ‘Hede med en Mose’ (Heath with a Bog) was acquired for the Danish Royal Collection. Patrons enjoyed his pared back and natural compositions, while his colouring matched the realities of the skies they lived under. He painted what he saw, best he could - it’s a simple, yet elegant, methodology.

He’s represented at the Statens Museum for Kunst and the Ribe Kunstmuseum.

Exhibited

Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition.

Public Collections

Statens Museum for Kunst, Ribe Kunstmuseum.

Timeline

1842

Born in Copenhagen to Johan Daniel Herholdt Groth, a pharmacist, and Cathrine Louise née Ahlers.

Studied at a drawing school under Frederik Ferdinand Helsted.

1861

Undertook classes at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

1864

Served in the Second Schleswig War.

1866

Graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Debuted at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition

1871

Undertook a study trip to Stockholm, Sweden.

1872-1878

Undertook study trips to Italy and France including Paris in 1875-1876 with Godfred Christensen and Christian Zacho.

1874

His painting ‘Hede med en Mose’ (Heath with a Bog) was acquired for the Danish Royal Collection.

C. 1880

Attended meetings held by the ‘Bogstaveligheden’, a radical group of intellectuals, which included artists, writers and poets.

1899

Died in Copenhagen.