Hans Andersen Brendekilde

Sale: Copenhagen, Kunsthallen Kunstauktioner, no. 256, 1963, lot 28
Private Collection, Denmark (purchased at the above sale)
Sale: Sotheby's London, 22 June 2000, lot 149
Private Collector (acquired at the above sale)

The canvas has been relined. There are flecks of minor retouching visible under ultraviolet light to the upper edge and white areas in the composition, apart from which the work is in very good overall condition, with bright colours and strong impasto. Held in a decorative, gold-painted moulded plaster and wood frame.
"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."

Hans Anderson Brendekilde was a nineteenth century Danish artist who excelled in a variety of media.  He began his artistic life as a sculptor but in his maturity committed himself entirely to oils and pastel.  His paintings are often on a very large scale creating delightful enveloping vistas of the beautiful Danish countryside.  He painted evocative landscape paintings, harsh social realist subjects and dramatic depictions of religious subjects.

H. A. Brendekilde enrolled in the Copenhagen Academy as a sculpture student between 1870 and 1881.  Between 1800 and 1900 he was involved in the realist debate in Danish art.

He first exhibited in 1882 and was represented at Danish and international exhibitions, including the Worlds Colombian Fair, Chicago 1893, and the Exposition Universelle, Paris 1889.  He was greatly influenced by the plein-air techniques and subjects matters of French Impressionism and inspired by naturalist, realist art.  He almost always painted before the motif in nature, observing daily life and human life, only retouching his compositions in the final stages in the studio.  Brendekilde applied the stylistic innovations of the French Impressionists to a personal and Danish subject matter.

About 1885 he started to paint large-scale works with landscapes and forests with white anemones and fresh green leaves, like The first anemones.  With the photographic effect in the composition of landscapes and figures and the "rough" brushstrokes, Brendekilde elaborates a poetic representation of the harmony between nature and man.

Brendekilde exhibited regularly both in Denmark and throughout Europe.  He was awarded annual medals both in 1892 for Spring and the following year for Une Route.

The work of Hans Anderson Brendekilde is represented in the Fyns Kunstmuseum, Odense, Denmark.