Poul S. Christiansen (1855–1933)
From the Vicinity of Karise at Whitsuntide, 1894
Oil on canvas

41 x 55 cm

Inventory number B 161

A row of pollarded poplars with their leaves freshly unfolded form a boundary along a field in a brightly lit landscape swathed in summery hues of green. In the foreground is a flowering meadow, while a farm can be glimpsed in the distance. The scene was found near the South Zealand town of Karise, which Poul S. Christiansen visited almost every summer from 1887 to 1907.

Poul S. Christiansen created countless depictions from the area around Karise, where the winding roads, the fields and lush forests made this landscape his favourite subject. Together, these works testify to the impact of being able to paint out of doors in an increasingly familiar natural setting over a long period of time. From the Vicinity of Karise at Whitsuntide also reflects the change that took place in Poul S. Christiansen’s painterly mode of expression around 1890, where he began working with a fresher palette than before.¹

In its present-day state, From the Vicinity of Karise at Whitsuntide has been significantly cropped compared to its original format: a nine-centimetre strip of the canvas, including the artist’s signature, has been folded back and tucked in underneath the frame at the bottom.² Originally, Poul S. Christiansen let the wild meadow spread out in a way that made it the central motif in the image, referencing Vincent van Gogh’s paintings of poppy fields. The reduced work has greater balance between meadow and sky, drawing our eyes more in the direction of the poplars and further out towards the horizon.

Published in

Fortegnelse over Kunstværkerne paa Den frie Udstilling, København 1903, cat.no. 19;
Fortegnelse over Arbejder af Poul Christiansen 1885-1910, Den Frie Udstilling, København 1910, no. 29;
S. Danneskjold-Samsøe: Maleren Poul S. Christiansen, København 1935, cat.no. 107, p. 231;
Erik Zahle: ”Billedkunst” in C.L. Davids Samling. Nogle Studier, [1], København 1948, p. 209;
Susanne Thestrup Truelsen in Kjeld von Folsach and Nana Lund (eds.): Dansk kunst i Davids Samling – fra Philipsen til Saxbo, Davids Samling, København 1995, cat.no. 46, pp. 120-121;
Hanne Honnens de Lichtenberg: Maleren Poul S. Christiansen 1855-1933, Faaborg Museum and Sophienholm, Faaborg 1998, cat.no. 7, p. 27;
Hanne Honnens de Lichtenberg: Maleren Poul S. Christiansen, Valby 2001, fig. 80, pp. 126-127;
Kathrin Baumstark (ed.): Nolde und der Norden, Bucerius KUNST Forum, Hamburg 2021, cat.no. 57, pp. 150, 190;

Footnotes

The change was particularly prompted by Christiansen’s association with Kristian Zahrtmann and his school and by the exhibitions of modern French art held in Copenhagen in 1888, 1889 and 1893. See: Hanne Honnens de Lichtenberg: Maleren Poul S. Christiansen, Valby 2001, p. 205.

Exactly when and why the format was reduced is unknown, but likely the artist has known about and accepted its present state.