KAY CHRISTENSEN

(Danish, 1899-1981)

THE SEINE AND

THE PONT MARIE, AUTUMN

Oil on Canvas

19¾ x 25¾ Inches

Signed Lower Right, "Kay"

Titled Verso, "Paris"

Dated Verso, "27 October 1948"

 

A serene, aerial perspective of the Seine and the Île Saint-Louis viewed from above the Quai des Célestins and looking towards the Île de la Cité with Notre Dame in the distance.

 

This early Danish Post-Impressionist first studied with Marie Sandholt and Astrid Holm at the Copenhagen Art Academy and, subsequently, at the School of Graphics (1929-31). Christensen continued his studies while traveling widely throughout Europe, including to Germany and Austria (1913-14), Paris (1917-23) and to Budapest and Vienna (1934). In 1935, Christensen was awarded the Michaelsen Scholarship which enabled him to stay in Paris during the late 1930's. During this intense period of development and creativity, he moved away from the bold colors and defined forms of his earlier Fauve and Cubist periods and began to explore the creation of predominantly single color works, often in blues or greens with subtle shades of white. After the Second World War, he returned frequently to paint in Paris.

 

Christensen, like his friend, Rainer Maria Rilke, followed a solitary artistic path in which his imagery was characterized by his own sensual aesthetic combined with a spirited boldness and expressive force. He exhibited internationally with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards. Kay Christensen's work is held in private and public collections including the State Art Museum of Denmark and Copenhagen's Metropolitan Museum among others. We are pleased to offer this lyrical perspective of the Seine, the Pont Marie and the Île Saint-Louis painted when the artist was forty-nine years old.