FOSS, HARALD (Danish, 1843-1922) "River Landscape, Jutland." Signed, L.R. and dated 1894, L.L. Oil on canvas on board, 12" x 16" (sight); 18" x 20" (framed). Price Category: B

Harald Foss, a landscape painter, was born in Fredericia in 1843. While he was still a boy, the family moved to Upper Jutland, where his father ran a custom's office. As he grew to manhood, Harald was inspired by nature but lacked artistic training. While working as a house painter, he found a patron who subsidized his attendance at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, which he attended from 1863 to 67. He studied with Vilhelm Kyhn, who had a major influence on his style. Later he studied with P.C. Skovgaard and lived in his house during the winter of 1870-71. During his career Foss exhibited throughout Denmark, winning medals from the Royal Academy in 1888 and 89. From his youth Foss dedicated his talent to landscape painting. He generally preferred rolling hills and often dramatized his landscapes with moving clouds and uneven foregrounds, always avoiding a straight horizon. Eventually he became known for his large panoramas of Jutland, with their dark, moody colors and strong lines. However, he is not at his best in these large works, which were painted in the studio. Much fresher are his small landscapes, like this one, which were painted outdoors. Here Foss depicts a river valley, probably in Jutland. It is late summer, and the sky is mostly cloudy with a few patches of blue. The perspective is from a low vantage point on the river, perhaps painted on a sandbar. Water crosses the entire width of the foreground. In the left center, some taller trees appear and blend into a long stretch of pines. In the distance, a range of large hills breaks the horizon. The remaining top half of the canvas is devoted to sky, in subtle tones of greys, white, pink, and blues. The painting is remarkably crisp, with great attention to detail, particularly in the trees, rocks, and branches that appear in the water, and in the marvelous reflections, so ably rendered. Provenance: Janus Galleries, Madison, WI, 1995; Hajalm Kleis Kunsthandel EFTF, Copenhagen, 1986. Museums: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen Fyns Kunstmusem. Odense Arhus Kunstmuseum Randers Kunstmuseum References: A. Been, Danmarks Malerkunst (Det Nordiske Forlag, Copenhagen). E. Bénézit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Gravures (Librairie Gründ: Paris, 1976). Merete Bodelsen og Povl Engelstoft, Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon (Aschehoug Dansk Forlag:1947). Sigurd Müller, Nyere Dansk Malerkunst (J. C. Stochholms Forlag: Kjobenhavn, 1884). Ulrich Thieme, Allegemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler.

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