This late 19th-century oil painting by Danish artist Frants Henningsen (1850-1908) depicts a bonneted girl riding a horse-drawn carriage in a landscape. It’s a preliminary study for his larger, more comprehensive work, titled ‘The Harvesters’ or ‘Høst’. Henningsen was an accomplished painter of scenes, interiors and landscapes.

Here, under the buoyant rays of the midday sun, the artist has applied himself expertly to capture the nuances of this delicate image. Note the wheel rims, which are partially illuminated via light falling through the slats. And the subtle tonal adjustments to accurately render the girl’s bonnet, top and skirt. It’s almost certainly painted from life.

There are two known versions of the finished piece, one smaller than the other, but with identical compositions. Both feature additional figures including (presumably) the girl’s father, who sits on her right and a field hand standing ahead of them. It’s fascinating to gain insight into Henningsen’s thought process as he worked up this elegant little study. 

He painted numerous scenes featuring members of the farming community and approached each of them with a blend of superior training. He initially studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts before heading to Paris to work with Leon Bonnat. Both experiences were formal, rigorous and designed to hone one’s draughtsmanship above all else. Bonnat’s precise, emotional, style would greatly influence the Dane for the remainder of his career.

As you would imagine, his ‘en plein air’ studies, as we see here, were somewhat more liberal with less attention to the minutiae and more on the transient light effects.

He's represented at the Statens Museum for Kunst and his brother was the artist Erik Henningsen (1855-1930).

Monogrammed in the lower left and framed.

Learn more about Frants Henningsen in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 23½” x 17” / 60cm x 43cm
Year of creation: c. 1898
Provenance: Private collection, Denmark.
Condition: Cleaned. Frame in excellent condition.
Artist’s auction maximum: £35,000 for ‘A Summer's Day on Hornbæk Beach (1884)’, Oil on canvas, Christie's, British and European Art, London, 2021 (lot 130).
Our reference: BRV1954