XAN KROHN | White Nights in Norway

Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov, VIII Vystavka kartin zhurnala 'V mire iskusstv', 1909, no.143
Moscow, Kournikova Gallery, Kristian Kron, Zhivopis', 15 May - 20 July 2014, no.5
Oslo, Oslo Kunsthandel, Julie de Holmberg Krohn & Xan Krohn, 12 February - 6 March 2016, no.2

Exhibition catalogue VIII Vystavka kartin zhurnala 'V mire iskusstv', 1909-1910, Kiev: Tipografiya R.K. Lubkovskogo, 1909, p.20, no.143 listed
Exhibition catalogue Kristian Kron, Zhivopis', Moscow: Kournikova Gallery, 2014, p.67, no.5 illustrated
L.Lien, Xan og Julie Krohn - liv og kunst. Kosmopolitter i medgang og motgang, Bergen: Bodoni Forlag, 2015, p.37, no.21 illustrated 
 
  

Having settled in Kiev in 1908 together with his wife Julie de Holmberg, Xan Krohn made his artistic debut in the Russian Empire the following year when he contributed a group of works to a travelling exhibition which took place in Kiev, Odessa and Kharkov. The show was organised by the Kiev-based arts and literature magazine ‘V mire iskusstv’, which was partly funded by Alexandra Exter, an early supporter of Krohn. ‘One cannot deny his talent, taste and passion for art. Krohn’s artistic potential is huge', wrote one critic in Odessa, 'The forty paintings exhibited reveal the evolution of his work and his creative process. In these we can undoubtedly discern a divine spark. The paintings depicting his homeland are captivating and he masterly reflects various elements of Norwegian nature’ (quoted in L.Lien, 2015, p.39). The artist was delighted by his early success: ‘In Odessa I exhibited forty paintings together with the best Russian artists. In the first week alone I sold six paintings and received good reviews’ (ibid, p.40).