“Midsummer Bonfire on Skagen Beach”
Here is a marvelous piece by P. S. Krøyer, one of the Skagen Painters.
“Midsummer Bonfire on Skagen Beach” is an oil on canvas painting by the Norwegian Danish artist, P. S. Krøyer, from 1906.
The Skagen Painters formed an artist’s colony in Skagen, in the northernmost part of Denmark at the tip of the Jutland peninsula. These artists sought to explore their own art aesthetic and break away from the Academic art principles still taught in Copenhagen. Krøyer acted as their unofficial leader and is one of the most well-known artists from that group.
In this piece, Krøyer depicts Sankthansaften, a Midsummer celebration that takes place on July 23rd, where a bonfire is lit and members of the community celebrate. This is a tradition still practiced in Denmark today. The lighting of the bonfire helps bid farewell to the long summer days and prepare for the shorter days to come. This painting shows the no longer used practice of stacking tar barrels and lighting them on fire.
While the bonfire is burning, the Danes sing “Midsommervise”, a traditional song written by the poet, Holger Drachmann, in 1885. Wonderfully, Drachmann is present in this painting by Krøyer.
This painting provides a glimpse into a very special place in art history. Krøyer depicts many of the faces of the Skagen art community along members of the local population. It includes such notable Skagen artists as Anna Ancher, Michael Ancher, Laurits Tuxen, and Holger Drachmann, all of whom are on the left side of the canvas with the exception of Laurits. The right side consists mostly of the locals and their families.
Also present are Krøyer’s ex-wife, Marie, with her lover and soon to be new husband, the Swedish composer, Hugo Alfvén. The two are in the back, standing against a boat. The Krøyer’s had divorced from their 16-year marriage in 1905 and P.S. Krøyer, suffering from mental illness and physical ailments, died just three years later in 1909.
This was a painting that Krøyer had conceived the idea for as early as 1892 but did not begin in earnestness until 1903, from when most of his preliminary sketches date.
“Midsummer Bonfire on Skagen Beach” is part of the collections of the Skagens Museum in Skagen, Denmark.
For more on P. S. Krøyer, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
