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| Peder Krøyer, preliminary sketch for Hip, Hip, Hurrah! |
When Peder Krøyer wanted to paint a scene of himself and his friends sharing a toast after a luncheon party, he took a lot of photos and did a lot of preliminary sketches.
But he needed a study of himself raising the glass, so his friend Oscar Björck obliged him with an oil study.
Krøyer used all these sketches and photos as reference during the four years it took to complete the final painting, entitled Hip, Hip, Hurrah!
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Lovely painting, with a rich backstory. I especially like the mother/daughter dynamic; Anna Ancher and little Helga Ancher. The glowing light on Anna’s side, and a perfectly-captured instant familiar to all parents — going through the motions of interacting with the other adults (here, raising a glass in a toast) while fundamentally paying attention to the child. Interesting to read of little Helga growing up to follow her mother’s lead and becoming a painter. Thanks for featuring this painting.
ReplyDeleteSomething about this seems off to me, from a current perspective. I think I am over-sensitive...what seemed to the commenter, Steve Gilzow, to be a positive dynamic - well, it just looks so patriarchal to me. Yes, the beauty of the parental interaction, and the color scheme of the female-oriented section at the center...and the men are all background - they could be leaves and limbs of the tree.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe - could this be a subtle idea: all that hip hip hooray self-congratulation is just background noise while the real life is going on in front?
I think I am reading into this and deciding on two opposing dynamics. Whew, time to just chill.
"Krøyer used all these sketches and photos as reference during the four years it took to complete the final painting...."
ReplyDeleteFour years! Wow, maybe I need to spend more than an hour or two on a few paintings?!?
I have seen that painting. Fantastic! And visited the museum, hotel, etc., in Skagen. Too, Kroyer’s home. Wonderful place. Strong light and interesting subject matter everywhere.
ReplyDeleteSusan, if you're looking for a relatively progressive group of artists for its time, you won't find better than the Skagen artists, who counted some extraordinary female artists among their company, such as Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer.
ReplyDelete