KRAESTEN IVERSON

(Danish, 1886-1955)

SPRING FLOWERS IN A MILK JUG

Oil on Canvas

36 x 28 Inches

Initialed Lower Right, "K.I."

 

Born in Copenhagen in 1886, Kraesten Iverson first studied with Hendrik Gronvold at the Copenhagen Academy of Fine Art. An early member of the Bornholm School, he exhibited with success at the Charlottenborg Academy beginning in 1919. That same year, his large mythological work, 'Odysseus and Naussicaa' was purchased by the Société des Artistes Français for inclusion in their permanent collection.

 

In 1930, Iverson was appointed Professor of Art at the Copenhagen Academy and subsequently became an influential academic proponent of modernist ideas while continuing to exhibit widely throughout Europe. He worked in many different media, including ceramic and glass, and received numerous commissions to design stained-glass windows in both public and devotional buildings, including the city hall in Aarhus and Saint Nikolai's church in Svendborg. With the Bornholm School, he developed a distinctive style of classically-derived modernism, inspired by the island's unique landscapes and light. We are pleased to offer this dramatic and lyrical still-life, painted circa 1915, which exemplifies modernist ideals while remaining firmly anchored in the European classical tradition.