JOIN JANE CONTINUING TO MAKE SENSE OF ART
And this month Jane is looking at the the work of Laurits Tuxen.
The Edwardians Age of Elegance is a brand new exhibition at The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and I was lucky enough to go there on its opening day.
It is a wonderful exhibition – a lovely mix of paintings, sculpture, photographs and costumes, but what I really want to share with you is the work of Laurits Tuxen. I was completely blown away by his paintings which for me were the central components of the exhibition – and yet I had never heard of him!
The painting above is called ‘The Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, 28th June 1897.’ and was painted between 1897 and 1900. The detail is absolutely extraordinary and is characteristic of Tuxen’s work.
So – who was Laurits Tuxen?
Laurits Tuxen (1853 – 1927) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and was a graduate of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He became a very well known figure painter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries travelling around Europe painting portraits and group scenes of Danish, Greek, Russian and British royalty. He was introduced to Queen Victoria by Princess Alexandra who was also Danish. Queen Victoria commissioned a number of paintings recording ceremonial and family occasions, including this family group at Windsor Castle for the Golden Jubilee in 1887.
Below are two close ups of the Garden Party painting – the first of people in the foreground, the second of a group of people, probably ambassadors from way back in the painting. What I found so incredible was that the detail is as great in the background as in the foreground, from the detail in the costumes to facial expressions. Every figure in the painting is important (and the invitees at that Garden Party would have been able to spot themselves!) – none have been glossed over. One can’t imagine his process in producing works on such a huge scale with so much fine detail.
Below are two more close ups of both paintings – they are fantastic records of social history, wonderful for anyone interested in the fashions of the Victorian era, social as well as military. I thoroughly recommend looking out for the work of Laurits Tuxen if you are in Denmark. He also painted landscapes and portraits of his friends and family.
