Artwork
Arkitekten Thorvald Bindesbøll i en granskov på Kullen
Arkitekten Thorvald Bindesbøll i en granskov på Kullen is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist August Jerndorff. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays the Danish architect Thorvald Bindesbøll standing within a dense forest on the Kullen peninsula. Jerndorff’s portrait emphasizes the sitter’s professional identity through the natural setting, linking architectural practice to the Nordic landscape tradition of the late nineteenth century.
Technique & Style
No further details regarding the handling of the paint, the condition of the panel, or specific stylistic qualities are documented in the available sources.
The work is executed in oil paint, classified as a portrait painting. According to the Wikidata record, the oil medium is applied to a panel support, giving the surface a character typical of late nineteenth-century Scandinavian cabinet pictures rather than large-scale canvas works.
Its dimensions are modest in scale for a portrait of this kind, measuring 390 mm in height and 500 mm in width, a horizontal format that accommodates the sylvan setting in which the sitter is placed. The genre is portraiture, with the composition focused on the architect Thorvald Bindesbøll depicted within a spruce forest on Kullen.
No further details regarding the handling of the paint, the condition of the panel, or specific stylistic qualities are documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The portrait of Thorvald Bindesbøll was painted by August Jerndorff in 1889. It was created as a commissioned work and entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display. The artwork measures 390 centimeters in height and 500 centimeters in width.
It is classified as a portrait and was executed in oil paint on panel. The painting was first documented in 1889 and has been part of the museum's permanent holdings since its acquisition.
The work is part of the collection at Statens Museum for Kunst, listed under inventory number 00195.
It has been exhibited in the museum’s 1995 retrospective of August Jerndorff’s portraiture.
The painting measures 390.0 cm in height and 500.0 cm in width.
Overview
August Jerndorff’s 1895 oil painting portrays architect Thorvald Bindesbøll seated amid a dense spruce forest on the Kullen peninsula. The work is part of the collection of Denmark’s National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst) and measures the figure against a shadowy woodland backdrop, emphasizing a quiet, contemplative moment.
Context
The painting belongs to a period when Danish artists increasingly explored naturalistic settings for portraiture, moving away from formal studio conventions. By placing Bindesbøll in a forest, Jerndorff aligns the work with broader trends that linked personal identity to landscape, a motif common in Nordic art of the era.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
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