Karl Bovin
Encyclopedia
Karl Bovin (1907-1985) was a Danish painter
who specialized in landscapes of his native Odsherred
in the north west of Zealand.
He was interested in art from an early age. In the 1920s, he cycled to the artists paradise Skagen
in the north of Jutland
to show Anna
and Michael Ancher some of his early work. As a result of their encouragement, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art
in Copenhagen
. Here he came together with a group of constructivists who relied largely on intuition and observation but was not happy with their approach.
He therefore joined fellow artist Kaj Ejstrup in Odsherred where there were excellent opportunities to concentrate on nature and landscape painting. Slowly other artists followed, forming the so-called Odsherredsmalerne (Odsherred painters) within the Corner painters association
. In 1932, Bovin was successful in having one of his landscapes bought by Statens Museum for Kunst
, the Danish national gallery, reinforcing his reputation.
His earlier paintings are characterised by dull tones, no doubt influenced by the woes of the times. However, by the end of the 1930s, his paintings became livelier. After travelling to North Africa
in the 1950s, his paintings immediately benefitted from more colour and brighter light. Indeed, he found he could better represent these effects in watercolours than in oils.
Though closely involved with the impressionists
, he continued to develop his own style and motifs with the result that he became one of the best landscape painters of the 20th century, painting his natural surroundings in winter, summer and spring.
Bovin continued to paint until the 1970s, when poor health prevented him from continuing further.
Much of his work can be seen at Odsherreds Museum of Art.
Art of Denmark
Danish art goes back thousands of years with significant artifacts from the 2nd millennium BC, such as the Trundholm sun chariot. Art from modern Denmark forms part of the art of the Nordic Bronze Age, and then Norse and Viking art...
who specialized in landscapes of his native Odsherred
Odsherred
Odsherred is a peninsula in the north-western part of the island Zealand in Denmark. Odsherred is stretching from the Sjællands Odde in the north-west to the now drained fjord Lammefjord in the south, covering an area with a wide range of the most typical Danish landscapes such as long sandy...
in the north west of Zealand.
He was interested in art from an early age. In the 1920s, he cycled to the artists paradise Skagen
Skagen
Skagen is a projection of land and a town, with a population of 8,515 , in Region Nordjylland on the northernmost tip of Vendsyssel-Thy, a part of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark...
in the north of Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
to show Anna
Anna Ancher
Anna Ancher was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artists' colony in the very north of Jutland.-Background:...
and Michael Ancher some of his early work. As a result of their encouragement, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art
Royal Danish Academy of Art
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts has provided a practice-oriented complement to the scholarly investigation of the arts carried out at Danish universities for more than 250 years, playing a crucial part in the development of the distinctive tradition of the art of Denmark.- History :The Royal...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. Here he came together with a group of constructivists who relied largely on intuition and observation but was not happy with their approach.
He therefore joined fellow artist Kaj Ejstrup in Odsherred where there were excellent opportunities to concentrate on nature and landscape painting. Slowly other artists followed, forming the so-called Odsherredsmalerne (Odsherred painters) within the Corner painters association
Corner painters
The Corner painters in Denmark first came together in 1932 when they decided to hold an exhibition in a meeting hall inside an office building on the corner of Vester Voldgade and Studiestræde in the centre of Copenhagen...
. In 1932, Bovin was successful in having one of his landscapes bought by Statens Museum for Kunst
Statens Museum for Kunst
Statens Museum for Kunst is the Danish national gallery located in Copenhagen....
, the Danish national gallery, reinforcing his reputation.
His earlier paintings are characterised by dull tones, no doubt influenced by the woes of the times. However, by the end of the 1930s, his paintings became livelier. After travelling to North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
in the 1950s, his paintings immediately benefitted from more colour and brighter light. Indeed, he found he could better represent these effects in watercolours than in oils.
Though closely involved with the impressionists
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, he continued to develop his own style and motifs with the result that he became one of the best landscape painters of the 20th century, painting his natural surroundings in winter, summer and spring.
Bovin continued to paint until the 1970s, when poor health prevented him from continuing further.
Much of his work can be seen at Odsherreds Museum of Art.