Introducing: Skagen Painters

‘The Skagen Painters’ were a group of Danish artists who established an artists’ colony in the seaside village of Skagen during the late 1870s. Attracted by the clear light and picturesque surroundings, they were led by Peder Severin Krøyer who had helped introduce Impressionism to Denmark. Members included his wife Marie Triepcke Krøyer, Georg Brandes, Karl Madsen, Carl Locher, along with Michael and Anna Ancher. Reacting against the neoclassical style promoted by conservative academies, they followed the Impressionist model of painting direct from nature, ‘en plain air’, using loose expressive brushstrokes. The earlier innovations of French Realism and the Barbizon School also informed their work. Many of their paintings involve portrayals of weather-beaten local fishermen involved in their daily tasks. Krøyer was particulary interested in the evening light of the ‘Blue Hour’, as well as the sophisticated interior effect of lamplight mixed with natural light. The artists were often to be found socializing together at the Brøndum Hotel, and in 1908 the Skagens Museum was founded to house a collection of their works.