Ludvig Jacobsen

Ludvig Jacobsen (Danish, 1890–1957). 

Ludvig Jacobsen first studied at the Copenhagen Technical School, working initially as a book illustrator and, subsequently, as a fashion designer. Strongly influenced by the French Romantic movement, Jacobsen was particularly called to the saturated palette and strong compositional sense of Eugene Delacroix, whose work he discovered during his first trip to Paris. Jacobsen was also an admirer of Rubens, Watteau and Corot—all artists notable for considering color rather than line as the foundational element in their work. This was also very much the priority of Jacobsen, whose energetic yet softly contoured figural works exemplify this quality.

Jacobsen traveled and painted widely, including to Berlin and Dresden (1923), France and Spain (1929), Mallorca (1933) and again to France (1937). He exhibited widely and with success, including at the Paris Salon (1928–29) and frequently at the Charlottenborg Autumn Exhibition. He was a recipient of the 1921 Serdin-Hansens Prize (1921) and, in 1923, scholarships from both the Royal Academy and Raben-Levetzau. In 1929, He was awarded the Benzon scholarship. Ludwig Jacobsen's works may be found in the permanent collections of museums throughout Denmark and in many prominent public and private collections. Dating to circa 1915, this exquisite treatment of an intimate domestic subject is a masterpiece of compressed energy.

Signed lower right recto

Arnbaks Kunsthandel, Bredgade 24, Copenhagen

Weilbach, Dansk Kunstnerleksikon; E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 7, p. 419.

Vollmer Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler des 20. Jarhhunderts, Hans Vollmer, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 2, p. 519.