An Italian Villa

Aagaard, Carl Frederick (1833 - 1895)

An Italian Villa

Oil on Canvas: 33" x 50"
Catalog# AAGC-001

A young girl sitting on a top step of an Italian villa gestures with her left hand to a young boy on top of an arch. They appear very small as they are scaled by the large white-washed pillars and walls. Vines and bushes of greens, reds and yellows grow on top of the pillars and walls. The light source is coming from the top left of the piece as the late afternoon light illuminates the pillars with a golden glow. Beyond the pillars we have a view of a blue ocean and vast land reaching far into the horizon. Sailboats are seen on the water as well as towns along the coast. The artist has used paint texture on the leaves of the vines and yellow sunlight for emphasis.

Artist: Carl Frederik Aagaard (1833-1895)

  • Born January 31st 1833 in Odense, DK.
  • Son of Ole Aagaard & Ane Ursula Thrane.
  • Married Anna Emilie Pio July 1st 1858.
  • Died November 11th 1895 in Copenhagen.

Education:

  • 1847-52 - Attended The Odense Art School under Prange.
  • 1852 - Attended The Odense Technical Art School, then The Royal Art Academy.

Academy:

  • 1852 - Student of G.C. Hilker, F. Kittendorff, and P.C. Skovgaard

Travels:

  • 1870-71, 75-76 - Paris and Italy
  • 1876 - Norway

Exhibits:

  • 1857-96 - Charlottenborg Palace Spring Exhibitions
  • 1866 - Royal Art Academy Exhibit
  • 1872, 88 - Nordic Exhibition in Copenhagen
  • 1878 - Paris Exhibition
  • 1882, 1942 - National Artist Exhibition
  • 1896 - Nordic Art Exhibit in Lubeck
  • 1901 - Town Hall Exhibit in Copenhagen
  • 1985 - Hundested Town Hall Exhibit
  • 1986 - Vejle National Art Museum
  • 1987 - Krapperup Museum and Town Hall

Positions & Appointments:

  • 1873-79 - Member of Charlottenborg Palace Exhibition Committee
  • 1874-83 - Member of The Royal Art Academy Council
  • 1887 - Member of the General Assembly Committee
  • 1887-95 - Honorary Head of the National Art Association

Awards & Acknowledgements:

  • 1857 - Neuhausen’s Prize
  • 1860, 69, 70 - Royal Academy Medals
  • 1865 - Sodrings Prize
  • 1875 - Michael Ancher Medal
  • 1892 - Titular Professor at The Royal Art Academy

Educated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1852. Pupil of G.C Hilkier, Johan Peter Aagaard and P.C Skovgaard. Aagaard was highly influenced by his teacher P.C Skovgaard working with romantic landscapes of extraordinary details and lights. In Aagaard's early days he collaborated with artist Henrich Hansen. working on the interior decors at the Royal Oprah and Theater House in Copenhagen and for the cathedral in Roskilde. Aagaard's décor is still visible to this day where he did a large landscape from the ceiling to the wall at the private chambers of the royal family. Aagaard traveled to Paris and Italy where he worked from 1870-1876. The numerous sketches from his travels were later finished in Denmark and Aagaard's famous work “The amphitheater in Sicily” was exhibited at the Copenhagen Museum in 1895. Other famous works include "At the Forest" exhibited at Reykjavik, Iceland 1880 and "Sunset at Saltholm" exhibited at Aarhus Museum in 1889. The works of Aagaard have frequently been exhibited all over Europe and many of his works are kept in national galleries worldwide.