Otto Bache

Sale: Bruun Rasmussen Bredgade, Copenhagen, 23 May 1995, lot 78
Purchased by the present owners at the above sale

Original canvas. There are only a few spots of very minor retouching, notably to an area of the sky near the edge of the Inn, and a fleck to the haunches of the white horse. The work is in otherwise very good overall condition and ready to hang, with only a few minor spots of very fine craquelure. Held in a decorative, gold-painted moulded plaster and wood frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Situated between Aalborg and Hadsund in Jutland, Lindenborg Castle and its estate has been host to its famous deer hunt since the middle ages. Bache's atmospheric painting of the hunt's horses being led past the Lindenborg Inn is arguably his most famous painting, and in 1976 was chosen by the Danish post office to adorn its 13 Kroner stamp, issued on 17 June of that year (fig. 1).

Born in Roskilde, Bache attended the Copenhagen Academy aged just ten where he was a pupil of Wilhelm Marstrand.  Between 1866 and 1868 he travelled to the Netherlands and to Paris, where he studied briefly under Jean-Léon Gérôme and took inspiration from the Realist painters, whose style is very much reflected in his own pictures. Bache became director of the Copenhagen Academy in 1905.

Fig. 1, Postage stamp depicting The Lindenborg Hunt issued by the Danish Post Office on 17 June, 1976