Dominique Lobstein

‘A lover of light’: in 1912, a French critic used these words to describe the great Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer, who had close ties to the French art scene for more than two decades. Krøyer first visited Paris in 1877, and his many letters clearly show the impact French art had on Krøyer’s own development as a painter, on the artists’ colony in Skagen, and on Danish art history in general. In Krøyer and Paris. French Connections and Nordic Colours, art historians Mette Harbo Lehmann and Dominique Lobstein describe Krøyer’s artistic development from the Golden Age tradition favoured by the Danish academy to Naturalism and the Modern Breakthrough. They show how inspiration from France can be traced in his painting technique and his open-air paintings from Skagen, revealing how French Naturalism made its mark on Krøyer’s distinctive style.

The lover of light': these were the words used in 1928 by a French critic seeking to describe the great Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer (1851-1909), who had close ties to the French art scene for more than two decades. Krøyer first arrived in Paris in 1877, and his diaries and travel notes speak eloquently of the crucial impact that French art had on not just Krøyer's own development as a painter, but also on the artists' colony in Skagen and Danish art history in general. In the book, art historians Mette Harbo Lehmann and Dominique Lobstein describe Krøyer's artistic development, progressing from the Royal Danish Art Academy's focus on Danish Golden Age tradition to the advent of Realism and the Modern Breakthrough. They show how inspiration from France can be traced in his atmospheric paintings, especially from Skagen, and point out how French Impressionism influenced Krøyer's distinctive style. The book accompanies the exhibition Krøyer and Paris, on display at the Skagen Museum from 13 May to 18 September 2022, but also constitutes an independent contribution to the study of Krøyer's works and his French connections.

A native of Valencia, Spanish Impressionist Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923) first went to Paris in 1885 as a young artist at the age of twenty-three. He exhibited at the international salons, winning the Grand Prix at the Exposition Universelle in 1900, and in 1906, he exhibited for the first time at the Galerie Georges Petit, one of the principal galleries of the Impressionists. The exhibition was a resounding success and helped establish Sorolla's international reputation. Known for his vigorous compositions, unusual color palette, and loose, radiant brush strokes, Sorolla's sundrenched landscapes, beach scenes, and luminous portraits even impressed such contemporaries as Claude Monet. Richly illustrated and with newly researched essays by noted scholars, this important book reveals much new information about Sorolla's activities and relationships with other artists in Europe. Included are more than one hundred paintings reflecting the artist's career, from his early work in Paris in which the influence of the French Impressionists is clearly evident, to the distinctive pictures that reflect his mature and celebrated style.