Gathering Storm. A Landscape Painting from a Danish Province and its Art Histories

Abstract

This article presents a case-study of the, largely forgotten, Danish painter, F. C. Kiærskou (1805–1891). Kiærskou’s regular inclusion in exhibitions by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and the Arts Society of Copenhagen indicates the success he enjoyed during his lifetime. Furthermore, a popular pictorial atlas of Denmark, published by Em. Bærentzen in 1856, featured several reproductions of Kiærskou’s paintings, many of which were then in prominent collections in Denmark. Nevertheless, Kiærskou found himself on the wrong side of a cultural rift that pitted the national against the international in art. Kiærskou’s success began to wane in his later years, and since his death he has been written almost completely out of Danish art history. This article explains Kiærskou’s journey into oblivion through an analysis of his method, subject-matter, correspondence, and reception.