The painting Summer Evening on Skagen’s Southern Beach with Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer stands as a definitive representation of Peder Severin Krøyer’s mastery of light. Born in Stavanger in 1851, the artist navigated a path from early academic training in Copenhagen to becoming a central figure of the Skagen Painters colony and a participant in the broader European art scene.
Early Development and Education
Raised in Copenhagen by his aunt and her husband, the zoologist Henrik Nikolai Krøyer, he exhibited artistic skill by age nine. He enrolled in the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts at twelve, completing his studies under Frederik Vermehren by 1870. His official debut occurred in 1871 at Charlottenborg with a portrait of Frans Schwartz, marking the start of a lifelong habit of exhibiting at the venue.
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Heinrich Hirschsprung became a critical supporter in 1874, purchasing four watercolour studies of fishermen. This patronage allowed for extensive travel across Europe between 1877 and 1881, supported further by a Royal Academy scholarship. During this period, he studied under Léon Bonnat in Paris, refining his technique while maintaining steady professional ties to Denmark through consistent submissions to local exhibitions.
The Skagen Period
Beginning in 1882, he integrated himself into the remote northern fishing village of Skagen. His time there involved painting both local maritime subjects and the social activities of the resident artistic community, which included Michael Ancher, Anna Ancher, and writers like Georg Brandes. His lifestyle involved rotating between a winter apartment in Copenhagen for commissioned portraiture and summer residences in the Skagen area.
Marriage and Later Life
He married the painter Marie Martha Mathilde Triepcke in 1889, with whom he had a daughter, Vibeke, in 1895. The marriage ended in divorce in 1905. Despite failing eyesight and deteriorating health related to syphilis, he produced major works like Midsummer Eve Bonfire on Skagen Beach in 1906. He died in 1909 at the age of 58 in Skagen.
Fast facts
- Born: 1851, Stavanger
- Died: 1909, Skagen
- Primary movement: Impressionism
- Awarded: Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (1891)
- Daughter: Vibeke, born 1895
- Primary occupations: painter, sculptor, graphic artist
- Notable work: Hip, Hip, Hurrah!
- Education: Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
Questions readers ask
What was P. S. Krøyer's connection to Hirschsprung?
Heinrich Hirschsprung was a significant patron and friend who provided financial support for Krøyer's travels and purchased his works, forming the foundation of the Hirschsprung Museum collection.
Did Krøyer stop painting when he lost his sight?
No. Despite losing his eyesight gradually over his final decade, he continued to work, occasionally joking that his one remaining eye compensated for the loss.
Achievements
- Legion of Honour
- Thorvaldsen Medal
- Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog — 1891
- Notable work: Hip, Hip, Hurrah!
- Notable work: Summer Evening on Skagen's Southern Beach
- Notable work: Summer Evening at Skagen. The Artist's Wife and Dog by the Shore
- Notable work: Roses
- Movement: Impressionism
