Bertha Wegmann (1847-1926) was one of the most accomplished Danish female artists of the late 19th - and early 20th century. Having found inspiration for her art in France, she concentrated mainly on portraiture and natural scenes, where she combined a sharp eye for contrast with an impressionistic method.
Wegmann was encouraged to become an artist from an early age. Denied entry to the Royal Danish Academy of Arts, she completed her artistic training abroad, staying variously in Munich (1867-1880) and Paris (1880-82). In France she received instruction from reputed artists like Bastien-Lepage, Gérôme and Léon Bonnat. Once back in Denmark, Wegmann quickly established herself as one of the leading Danish artists, exhibiting regularly at Charlottenborg and winning prizes.
Although her portraits were conventional in conception, they still impress today because of their powerful expressiveness. Her naturalist depictions, on the other hand, are more adventurous and tend to be attractive because of their freshness and compositional nous.
Our painting is a good example of that. It shows a close-up depiction of a cornfield, with some kind of heathland in the background underneath a lowering sky. The artist has structured the composition in an impressionist way, with perspective and a sense of distance being almost unfathomable. The waving stalks of grain are presented almost as a wall, which the viewer’s gaze runs into. Bertha Wegmann has cleverly introduced a nuance of colours in the foreground, with the heads of small flowers providing detail at the foot of the grain stalks.
The artist evinces a steady and purposeful hand, with the composition being painted in direct and short flicks of the brush being applied deftly.
Throughout her life, Bertha Wegmann exhibited abroad frequently. Interest in her work has revived in recent years and a big retrospective of her work was held at the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen in 2022 [1]. Her work can be seen in most leading Scandinavian museums.
________________
1. "Bertha Wegmann. Painting in many languages", exhibition, Hirschsprung Collection Copenhagen, 9 February - 29 May 2022.
Wegmann was encouraged to become an artist from an early age. Denied entry to the Royal Danish Academy of Arts, she completed her artistic training abroad, staying variously in Munich (1867-1880) and Paris (1880-82). In France she received instruction from reputed artists like Bastien-Lepage, Gérôme and Léon Bonnat. Once back in Denmark, Wegmann quickly established herself as one of the leading Danish artists, exhibiting regularly at Charlottenborg and winning prizes.
Although her portraits were conventional in conception, they still impress today because of their powerful expressiveness. Her naturalist depictions, on the other hand, are more adventurous and tend to be attractive because of their freshness and compositional nous.
Our painting is a good example of that. It shows a close-up depiction of a cornfield, with some kind of heathland in the background underneath a lowering sky. The artist has structured the composition in an impressionist way, with perspective and a sense of distance being almost unfathomable. The waving stalks of grain are presented almost as a wall, which the viewer’s gaze runs into. Bertha Wegmann has cleverly introduced a nuance of colours in the foreground, with the heads of small flowers providing detail at the foot of the grain stalks.
The artist evinces a steady and purposeful hand, with the composition being painted in direct and short flicks of the brush being applied deftly.
Throughout her life, Bertha Wegmann exhibited abroad frequently. Interest in her work has revived in recent years and a big retrospective of her work was held at the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen in 2022 [1]. Her work can be seen in most leading Scandinavian museums.
________________
1. "Bertha Wegmann. Painting in many languages", exhibition, Hirschsprung Collection Copenhagen, 9 February - 29 May 2022.
Cornfield, 1905
Signed and dated lower right: B. Wegmann 1905
Oil on canvas
75 x 64 cm
Provenance
Private collection, CopenhagenExhibitions
Winkel & Magnussen Auction nr 333, 1946, as no. 372
Bertha Wegmann (1847-1926) was one of the most accomplished Danish female artists of the late 19th - and early 20th century. Having found inspiration for her art in France, she concentrated mainly on portraiture and natural scenes, where she combined a sharp eye for contrast with an impressionistic method.
Wegmann was encouraged to become an artist from an early age. Denied entry to the Royal Danish Academy of Arts, she completed her artistic training abroad, staying variously in Munich (1867-1880) and Paris (1880-82). In France she received instruction from reputed artists like Bastien-Lepage, Gérôme and Léon Bonnat. Once back in Denmark, Wegmann quickly established herself as one of the leading Danish artists, exhibiting regularly at Charlottenborg and winning prizes.
Although her portraits were conventional in conception, they still impress today because of their powerful expressiveness. Her naturalist depictions, on the other hand, are more adventurous and tend to be attractive because of their freshness and compositional nous.
Our painting is a good example of that. It shows a close-up depiction of a cornfield, with some kind of heathland in the background underneath a lowering sky. The artist has structured the composition in an impressionist way, with perspective and a sense of distance being almost unfathomable. The waving stalks of grain are presented almost as a wall, which the viewer’s gaze runs into. Bertha Wegmann has cleverly introduced a nuance of colours in the foreground, with the heads of small flowers providing detail at the foot of the grain stalks.
The artist evinces a steady and purposeful hand, with the composition being painted in direct and short flicks of the brush being applied deftly.
Throughout her life, Bertha Wegmann exhibited abroad frequently. Interest in her work has revived in recent years and a big retrospective of her work was held at the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen in 2022 [1]. Her work can be seen in most leading Scandinavian museums.
________________
1. "Bertha Wegmann. Painting in many languages", exhibition, Hirschsprung Collection Copenhagen, 9 February - 29 May 2022.
Wegmann was encouraged to become an artist from an early age. Denied entry to the Royal Danish Academy of Arts, she completed her artistic training abroad, staying variously in Munich (1867-1880) and Paris (1880-82). In France she received instruction from reputed artists like Bastien-Lepage, Gérôme and Léon Bonnat. Once back in Denmark, Wegmann quickly established herself as one of the leading Danish artists, exhibiting regularly at Charlottenborg and winning prizes.
Although her portraits were conventional in conception, they still impress today because of their powerful expressiveness. Her naturalist depictions, on the other hand, are more adventurous and tend to be attractive because of their freshness and compositional nous.
Our painting is a good example of that. It shows a close-up depiction of a cornfield, with some kind of heathland in the background underneath a lowering sky. The artist has structured the composition in an impressionist way, with perspective and a sense of distance being almost unfathomable. The waving stalks of grain are presented almost as a wall, which the viewer’s gaze runs into. Bertha Wegmann has cleverly introduced a nuance of colours in the foreground, with the heads of small flowers providing detail at the foot of the grain stalks.
The artist evinces a steady and purposeful hand, with the composition being painted in direct and short flicks of the brush being applied deftly.
Throughout her life, Bertha Wegmann exhibited abroad frequently. Interest in her work has revived in recent years and a big retrospective of her work was held at the Hirschsprung Museum in Copenhagen in 2022 [1]. Her work can be seen in most leading Scandinavian museums.
________________
1. "Bertha Wegmann. Painting in many languages", exhibition, Hirschsprung Collection Copenhagen, 9 February - 29 May 2022.
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