LUDVIG JACOBSEN

(Danish, 1890-1957)

BACCHANAL

Oil on Canvas

12¾ x 16¾ Inches

Signed Lower Right, "Ludvig Jacobsen" and Dated 1926

 

An exceptional early twentieth-century figural work by this notable Danish modernist and follower of Watteau and Delacroix. This exquisite treatment of an intimate tryst is a masterpiece of elegantly compressed energy.

 

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.

 

Reference:

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; et al.