Hans Andersen Brendekilde (Danish 1857-1942)
Happy to See You Again
oil on canvas, signed lower left "H.A. Brendekilde 03"
Size: 27 ½ h x 37 w in (with frame: 41 ½ h x 49 ½ w in)
Provenance: Estate of Joseph and Rosalie Segal, Vancouver Canada
ZJ20929
This charming and animated scene from 1903 is an excellent example of Brendekilde’s work depicting idyllic, happy subjects including children and garden scenes. The location is most likely close to his large home in Jyllinge on the west coast of Denmark where he planted an extensive garden with more than 3000 species of flowers, possibly influenced by Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny.
Born Hans Andersen in Copenhagen, Brendekilde originally studied sculpture at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen before turning to painting early in his career. He shared a studio in Copenhagen with his good friend artist Lauritz Andersen Ring and their work was often confused as they shared many similarities including being raised in the countryside, painting in a similar style and having the same last name. Both artists added additional names Brendekilde and Ring to their surnames after their hometowns. They were the first Danish artists to begin to depict the reality of the rural working poor in Denmark, and this bold new Social Realism and plein-air painting was to have a profound influence on Danish painting. Brendekilde’s debut exhibition at the Royal Danish Academy was a great success, however he struggled financially. He was invited by patron Lars Ebbesen to live rent free on Petersminde farm in Raagelund on the island of Funen where he could focus on his painting. Ebbesen extended the invitation to L.A. Ring and the artist colony grew to include H.P. Carlsen, Søren Lund and Julius Paulsen.
During the 1880’s Brendekilde’s work became internationally recognized, and he won numerous awards. He continued to paint and exhibit his expressive social realist paintings, but also illustrated novels and became influential in introducing the British Arts and Crafts movement to Denmark. He included his carved frames as part of his paintings which were a success at the Great Nordic Exhibition in Copenhagen in 1888, inspiring other artists such as Harald Slott-Møller and J.F. Willumsen. Brendekilde also worked for the pottery firm Herman Kähler and with Glassworks of Funen, and is regarded as the first artist working with glass in Denmark. As he aged his paintings became less a call for socialist reform and his subjects were more idyllic, depicting happier subjects painted near his home in Jyllinge where he built a large home with an extensive garden.
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