A LA DISTANCIA :: Christa Zaat

Christa Zaat



Peder Severin Krøyer (Danish painter) 1851 - 1909
Sommeraften på Skagen Sønderstrand II (Summer Night on the South Beach at Skagen II), 1893
oil on canvas
38.5 x 60 cm. (39.4 x 59.1 in.)
The Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen, Denmark

P.S. Krøyer first thought of the picture in 1892 during a dinner party held at Krøyer's home. After the dinner, the guests went down to the beach to enjoy the summer's evening, and Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer went for a walk along the beach. During the 1890's in particular and until he died in 1909, Krøyer painted several works from Skagen, in which he depicted the twilight hour, the so-called 'blue hour', when the sky and the sea seem to merge into each other in the same shade of blue. Krøyer was far from the only artist to paint evocative, blue-tone paintings. Several artists from this period were engrossed in the evocative painting and the blue hour, which depicts the transition between day and night.

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Peder Severin Krøyer known as P.S. Krøyer, is one of the best known and beloved, and undeniably the most colorful of the Skagen Painters, a community of Danish and Nordic artists who lived, gathered or worked in Skagen, Denmark, especially during the final decades of the 19th century. Krøyer was the unofficial leader of the group.
Peder Severin Krøyer first came to Skagen in the summer of 1882. His enthusiasm for the countryside and environment, and not least the company of the other artists caused him to return almost every summer. In 1889, Krøyer married the artist Marie Triepcke. In 1894, the couple were permitted to rent and rebuild the old town recorder's residence in Skagen's Plantation – which is known today as Krøyer's House. The following year, Marie gave birth to their daughter, Vibeke. She stayed with her father in Skagen when Marie and Krøyer were divorced in 1906. Krøyer was already a famous artist when he first came to Skagen, and his presence attracted attention to the artists' colony in Skagen. In the summer, many artists would gather to work and celebrate there – and many of the celebrations were held on the initiative of Krøyer, who thoroughly enjoyed conviviality. Krøyer is known and loved mostly for his pictures from Skagen. In the pictures, he portrays the carefree life of the artists, their festive meals, walks on the beach and evocative moonlit evenings. At the beginning of the 20th century, Krøyer was admitted to the insane asylum at Middelfart several times, probably suffering from a manic-depressive psychosis. The illness weakened his health, and he died at the age of 58 in November 1909. He was buried at Skagen Cemetery.