This early 20th-century oil painting by Danish artist Ludvig Luplau Janssen (1869-1927) depicts two children dancing in a forest glade.
A mother, seated upon a circular tree bench in the shade, holds a newborn. Her lilac dress paired with a pink sun hat. While ahead, two children dance under a radiant sun. It’s a typically animated scene by Janssen - a painter of movement and jovial family moments.
The brushwork here captures a sense of youthful exuberance, the figures are a blur of excitement, and you can almost hear the laughter. While the trees are an amalgam of various green tones, set above pinkish dashes to indicate verticals. Usually, Jansson’s works possess greater refinement, but this is a simple passing moment captured ‘en plein air’ for posterity. It’s probably his own family during a trip. In 1905, he was married to Marie Borup.
Signed in the lower left and framed.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 34” x 20” / 87cm x 51cm
Year of creation: c. 1905
Condition: Artwork presents well. Fine craquelure but the paint is stable. Frame with some light wear.
Artist’s auction maximum: £8,576
Our reference: BRV1341
Ludvig Luplau Janssen trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, PS Kroyer’s Painting School and the Academy Ranon, Paris. He exhibited widely including at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition, The Free Exhibition, and The Secession, Berlin.
Learn more about Ludvig Luplau Janssen in our directory.
We care profoundly about our role as custodians and every piece in the collection has been assessed by our conservator. When required, we undertake professional restoration carefully using reversible techniques and adopt a light touch to retain the aged charm of each work. We also restore frames rather than replace them as many are original and selected by the artists themselves.
