ORLA MUFF

(Danish, 1903-1984)

NANA

Oil on Canvas

 17¾ x 21¾ Inches

Signed Lower Left, "Muff", Titled, "Nana"

and Dated 1934

 

After winning a national drawing competition at the age of 14, Orla Muff studied with the theatrical painter, Carl Lund from 1917-1921. He followed this with extended study throughout Europe, including in Stockholm and Paris. He achieved widespread acclaim as a designer of elaborate Art Deco sets for prominent European revues and theatrical productions, including for Copenhagen’s Folk Theater and Max Reinhardt’s Theater in Berlin. In the early 1930s, Muff turned his attention to easel painting, creating portraits and mythologically-derived figural works that often incorporated a high degree of Art Deco stylization. This study of a young member of Weimar Berlin's demi-monde was painted when Orla Muff was in his early thirties. It showcases both the artist’s gift for dramatic, forward composition and an intuitive talent for psychological penetration.

 

Artworks Exhibited:

Horse and Naked Women (1928); Woman with Golden Hair (1931); Leda and the Swan (exhibit 1940); Mountains by night (exhibit 1940); Midsummer Night's Dream (exhibit 1940); Landscape, Tisvilde (exhibit 1944); H.C. Andersen figures (wooden sculptures, 1947); H.C Andersen figures (ceramics, 1950s, for fa. Søholm); ill. with motifs from the Bible, intended for use in school films (from 1957); Triptych (1962-64); endv. ill. by H.C. Andersen's fairy tales, posters, theater decorations and costumes for the Mayol Theater, Oslo (1921-22); to Ernst Rolf's revues, Sth. (1923-28); to Max Reinhardt's Theater, Berlin (including sketches for Faust, 1930); to Folketeatret, Copenhagen. (Värmländingene, 1934); to Wintergarten, Berlin (1939).

 

Reference:

Weilbach, Dansk Kunstnerleksikon, the Castle and Cultural Agency, Copenhagen; Extrabl. 4/13/1940; 17.7.1940; Berl. Time. 7/29/1957; Day. Nyh. 9/22/1957; et al.