Christen Købke

Sale: Bruun Rasmussen, 4 November 1981, lot 431
Purchased by the present owner at the above sale

Mario Krohn, Maleren Christen Købkes Arbejder, Copenhagen, 1915, no. 177
Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen, Christen Købke, Italien tur-retur, vol. 3, Copenhagen, 1996, p. 182, catalogued, discussed & illustrated 
Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen & Kasper Monrad, eds., Christen Købke. 1810-1848, Copenhagen, 1996, no. 177 

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. Structural Condition The the artist's board is providing an even and secure structural support. Paint Surface The paint surface has an uneven and very discoloured varnish layer and the retouchings that have been applied in the past have become matt and are therefore clearly visible in natural light. Cleaning would undoubtedly result in a considerable colour change and a transformation in the overall appearance. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a number or retouchings the majority of which are clearly excessive and if removed would be found to be at least partially unnecessary. The most significant of the retouchings that are visible under ultra-violet light are: 1) along the upper horizontal framing edge, 2) a number of retouchings in the sky, and 3) a very small area on the boy's shirt. There are other small, scattered spots of inpainting. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition and should respond extremely well to cleaning, restoration and revarnishing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Danish Golden Age TO PRECEDE LOT 247

As the art historian Henrik Bramsen has pointed out, the term 'Golden Age' as used to describe academic Danish art of the first half of the nineteenth century came into general circulation as late as 1890, forming the title of a book about Danish poetry of the first half of the nineteenth century.

In the book, its author, Valdemar Vedel, claims that only after 1800 did the Danish mind gain its true, poetic expression. It was a romantic and patriotic notion, and the 'golden' label soon came to be transferred to the classicising pictorial art of the first half of the nineteenth century, which was similarly assumed to express the national soul with particular purity.

Christoffer Wilhlem Eckersberg, who in 1816 returned from Rome with a new and confident style, is now seen as the father of  Danish Golden Age painting, the more so because of his close association with Denmark's other great role model, the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1768-1844), who had introduced him to classical antiquity during his stay in Italy.

Paradoxically, Denmark's 'golden age' was far from bright and harmonious in reality. The country had been at war, the union between Norway and Denmark lay shattered, and the economy was in shambles. The rich grew poor and the poor even poorer, and a growing tension between the Danish and German segments of the community finally led to the bloody civil war of 1848-50.

It is perhaps not surprising that so much Golden Age painting is so removed from the reality in which it was created. Rather than a celebration of Denmark's pride and strength, as Vedel would have it writing at the end of the nineteenth century, the period's refined still lifes, peaceful cloisters, timeless Italianate views and historicising scenes perhaps represent a withdrawal by artists from the turbulence of the times. 

NOTE FOR LOT 247

Today Christen Købke is considered the most outstanding Danish painter of the Golden Age. He had a good deal of his teacher Eckersberg's severity, but was guided more by intuition than by strict principle, and had a more lively perception of his subjects. In 1838 Købke went to Italy but not in order to repeat the Roman views of his teacher, but to paint nature in Naples and Capri, and to copy the antique murals in Pompeii. The present work is one of the rare portraits inspired by the journey.