Summer Day at Mill Creek (1895)

La Cour, Janus Andreas Bartholin (1837 - 1909)

Summer Day at Mill Creek

Oil on Canvas: 15" x 18"
Catalog# LACJ-002

Artist: Janus La Cour (1837-1909)

  • Born September 5th 1837 in Timgaard, DK, son of proprietor August Otto La Cour and Ane Cathrine Strandbygaard.
  • Unmarried.
  • Died October 13th 1909.

Education:

  • 1850-53 - Studied privately with E. Hoegh-Guldberg in Arhus, DK / Latin School.
  • 1853 - Studied under N.L. Høyen and P.C. Skovgaard in Copenhagen.
  • 1854 - Received private tutoring from famed artists F.C. Kierschou and W. Marstrand.
  • 1857 - Attended the Royal Academy of Art School in Copenhagen.
  • 1859-64 - Attended modeling (drawing) school and taught students every winter.

Travels & Stays:

  • 1865 - Paris
  • 1865-67 - Marseille and Nice, Italy
  • 1868-70, 74, 97, 98, 1902 - Switzerland and Italy
  • 1905 - Switzerland
  • 1908 - Rome and Tivoli

Awards & Acknowledgements:

  • 1861 - Neuhausens Prize
  • 1865, 66, 68 - Royal Academy Medals
  • 1871 - Exhibitions Medal
  • 1872 - Became a member of the Royal Art Academy Council in Copenhagen
  • 1883 - Became a member of the Art Academy in Stockholm
  • 1888 - Became a Titular Professor
  • 1897 - Received the prestigious Michael Ancher Medal
  • 1900 - Awarded the Bronze Medal in Paris

Exhibitions:

  • 1855, 1857-63, 1865-68, 1871-79, 81, 1883-86, 1888-89, 1891-93, 1895-97,
  • 1900-01, 1903-04, 1906-07, 1910 - Spring Exhibitions at Charlottenborg Palace
  • 1872, 83, 88 - The Nordic Art Exhibition in Copenhagen
  • 1882 - Erste International Art Exhibit in Vienna
  • 1893 - World Exhibition of Art in Chicago
  • 1895 - Nordic Exhibit in Lubeck
  • 1900 - World Exhibition of Art in Paris
  • 1901 - Town Hall Exhibit in Copenhagen
  • 1901, 26, 28, 60 - Nordic Association of National Art Exhibit (1926,28, 60 in honor of…)
  • 1907 - Guildhall Exhibit in London
  • 1931 - Charlottenborg Palace Exhibition
  • 1942, 48 - National Artist Exhibit
  • 1957 - Charlottenborg Palace Exhibit “The last 100 years”
  • 1969 - Arhus Town Hall Exhibit
  • 1977 - Pittori danese a Roma nell'ottocento, Pal. Braschi, Rome
  • 1977-78 - Denmark’s “National Museum of Art” Exhibit / Sophienholm Exhibit
  • 1981-82 - Denmark and Germany’s “National Museum of Art” Exhibitions “100 years”

Biography:

Janus La Cour started drawing landscapes at the early age of 7. By the age of 16 he was being mentored by greatly renowned artists such as P.C. Skovgaard and W. Marstrand, which greatly influenced his style of landscapes. He is considered the artist who further developed and perfected Skovgaards idyllic vision of nature.

In his compositions, La Cour sought to capture the more quiet, serene, and harmonious atmosphere of nature, rather than its harsh side.

During his travels, La Cour became more and more influenced by French artists such as Claude Lorrain and C. Corots, evident in many of his very atmospheric works from Nemi Lake, Villa d‘Este in Tivoli, the Alps, and Bayern. La Cour’s other influences include S. Van Ruysdael and H. Swanevelt Janus La Cour eventually returned to the “golden age” style of painting, presumably out of reverence and adoration for his mentors. This is substantiated by the fact that in the last 25 years of his life, he avoided all contact with other artists, and new-age movements.

Janus La Cour spent the last part of his life back in Arhus, Denmark, and when he wasn’t vacationing in Switzerland and Italy, Janus painted his favorite motifs of Danish forests, streams, rolling hills, and the Ocean.