This mid-20th-century oil painting by Danish artist Harry Kluge (1879-1963) depicts a view of a courtyard. Kluge was an accomplished painter of maritime scenes and buildings.

Patinated walls, aged and rendered, create a textured surface, which frames a barred window. It’s uneven, tonal, and sombre.

Kluge had a fascination for unlikely beauty. Primarily known as a maritime painter, in his ‘spare time’, he tracked down interesting old structures and dilapidated back streets. His canny brushwork emphasised the diverse nature of urban surfaces - external walls have never been so captivating.

When in these solitary moments, tucked away from sight, he painted little else but architecture. There’s never a soul present, just the artist, the environment, and his tireless ambition to capture it all.

Signed/dated in the lower left and held within a later frame.

Learn more about Harry Kluge in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 19” x 25½” / 48cm x 65cm
Year of creation: 1948 
Provenance: Private collection, Denmark.
Condition: Cleaned. Areas of fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £6,156 for ‘Den kejserliga yachten, The Polar Star, i Köpenhamns hamn (1912)’, Oil on canvas, Stockholm, Sweden, 2015.
Our reference: BRV1912