Peder Knudsen was a well-travelled Danish artist who cherished the liberation of the outdoors versus the constraints of academic rigour. It's telling that at 19, he enrolled in the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, only to quit a year later. From here, heading to the west coast of Jutland to associate with a colony of painters, with sea air in their lungs.
As a member of the Nymindegab artist colony, he sampled the handling of artists such as Laurits Tuxen (1853-1927). A distinctly freer approach to capturing nature, with the French Impressionists as inspiration.
It seems conceivable that Knudsen admired the French approach to artistic training, as, like Tuxen before him, he travelled to Paris to study at Léon Bonnat’s painting school. Essentially gaining a technical grounding without compromising his own methodologies.
Following his tuition at Bonnat's, he explored several countries in search of views, including an extended spell in Finland.
His coastal scenes are particularly compelling - an attempt to capture more than simply the hierarchies of a vista before him. He's trying to describe the sensation of being there, listening to the heaving sea, with his easel wedged into the sand - as the towering coastal rocks are battered by the elements.
Peder Knudsen, Coastal Cliffs At Bornholm, Denmark (1920)
In 'Coastal cliffs at Bornholm', painted in 1920, the relentless waves of the brisk Baltic Sea are tumbling in shades of turquoise, with white froth lifted in impasto. They crash over the reclining cliffs - stoic, yet swamped by the swells. An artist has to be present in this moment to render such truth.
Later, when into his 50s, he began exhibiting regularly at the September Exhibition in Denmark - continuing to do so until his death in 1944.
Known For
Knudsen is known primarily as a landscape and coastal painter, with a particular sensitivity to maritime environments. His preferred subjects include rocky shorelines, surf-lashed coasts, harbours, and forest interiors, often drawn from Denmark, Bornholm, and Finland.
Working predominantly in oil, his paintings are distinguished by confident handling, a solid sense of structure, and an emphasis on physical presence rather than symbolism. Waves, rock formations, and weather systems are treated as forces rather than motifs, lending his work a sense of immediacy and lived observation. His best paintings suggest an artist concerned less with pictorial drama than with conveying the sensation of standing within a landscape - attentive to movement, sound, and elemental pressure.
Student Of
Knudsen trained initially at the Technical School in Copenhagen before briefly enrolling at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1887. After leaving the Academy, he continued his education in Paris at Léon Bonnat’s painting school, where he acquired a disciplined technical grounding without abandoning his preference for direct, outdoor observation.
Lived In
Knudsen was born and died in Copenhagen, but his working life was notably international. He spent formative early years associated with the west coast of Jutland, particularly around Nymindegab. Between 1902 and 1918 he lived in Finland, working primarily in and around Helsinki. He also spent extended periods travelling and working in France, Norway, and Switzerland. From 1919 onward, he was permanently based in Denmark, though he continued to undertake study trips abroad.
Historical Context
Knudsen’s career unfolded during a period when many Scandinavian artists were questioning academic convention and seeking more immediate engagement with nature. His early break from the Royal Danish Academy and association with the Nymindegab artist colony place him within a broader late-19th-century movement toward plein-air painting and experiential realism, influenced in part by French naturalism and Impressionism.
At the same time, his later decorative and institutional work reflects the practical realities of early 20th-century artistic life, in which painters often balanced personal practice with applied commissions. Knudsen’s steady exhibition record and involvement with cultural institutions situate him as a professional artist working within — rather than against — the structures of his time.
Public Collections
Works by Knudsen are held in several institutional collections, including Vejle Museum and the Teatermuseet (Casino’s Malersal). His painting Forest Interior from Karelia is held in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
Timeline
1868
Born 19 September in Copenhagen to Jacob Peder Knudsen, a carpenter’s apprentice who later became manager of a coal company, and Trine Marie Larsen.
1880s (early)
Educated at the Technical School in Copenhagen.
1887
Admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Studied there briefly before leaving.
Associated with Laurits Tuxen's artist colony 'Nymindegabmalerne', based around the coastal town of Nymindegab on the west coast of Jutland.
Late 1880s/early 1890s
Continued his training at Léon Bonnat’s painting school in Paris.
1895
Undertook decorative work associated with Casino’s Malersal (later Teatermuseet).
1896
Married Rebekka Katharine Jensen in Copenhagen.
1902-1918
Lived in Finland. Carried out decorative work, including sketches for the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki and the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki.
Early 1900s
Spent several years working and travelling in France, Norway, and Switzerland.
After 1902
Married his second wife.
1919
Returned to Denmark permanently, though continued to make study trips abroad.
1920-1926
Exhibited regularly at the September Exhibition in Denmark (primarily at the Free Exhibition Building): 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1926.
1934-1938
Continued to participate in September Exhibitions: 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938.
1940-1943
Final September Exhibitions during wartime: 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943.
Married Dagmar Dorothea Johanne Margrete Larsen in Helsinki, born 1903 in Copenhagen.
1944
Died on 7 March in Copenhagen.
1945
Memorial exhibition held at the September Exhibition.