Joakim Skovgaard

Joakim Skovgaard was raised in a Grundtvigian home with a clear awareness of his Danish roots, and he later forged close ties to the folk high school environment. He received drawing lessons from his father PCS from childhood, and his early landscape paintings were clearly dependent on him. During a trip to Paris in 1880-81 and a few months' stay at Leon Bonnat's school, where he gained basic knowledge of the new naturalistic style of painting, a change in style occurred, which can be seen in two pictures with the same motif, Spring Sheep Shearing on Lolland from 1878 and 1881 respectively. The greenish coloration was replaced by French-inspired gray tones. French influence is also seen in several pictures from Halland. The final liberation from his father's influence occurred during the trip to Italy in 1882-84, where S. was also in Greece with Kristian Zahrtmann. From his stay here, the impressions of the Parthenon frieze and vase paintings led to S.' monumental style in decorations on ceramic vases and in costume studies for church decorations. In terms of color, the stay in Rome meant an impressionistic influence from Theodor Philipsen and Rémy Cogger, which gave greater lightness to the painting. After returning home, S. made ceramic works at J. Wallmann in Utterslev, where his siblings Niels and Suzette and Th. Bindesbøll worked. In this circle, the decorative was emphasized, without completely abandoning the naturalistic, and S.'s work, especially with animal motifs, led him into sculpture. With Th. Bindesbøll he made the Bear Fountain and then over a number of years the Dragon Fountain. Religious motifs, however, became a crucial part of S.'s work. When in 1885 he made the drawings for Grundtvig's hymn The Blessed Day, a masterpiece was created among Danish book illustrations. The large picture The Angel Stirring the Water in the Bethesda Pond, 1888, shows a dramatic miracle, made after his wife was healed in Rome. In 1890, S. painted Christ Leading the Thief into Paradise, intended as an altarpiece for Mandø Church. The monumental, dramatic giant painting Christ in the Realm of the Dead, 1891-94, aroused much debate in the contemporary world due to its visionary, almost symbolist form. These works laid the foundation for the decoration of Viborg Cathedral. In the summers of 1874 and 1875, S. had worked on FC Lund's decoration in the church, and it was of great importance that he then came into contact with Bishop J. Swane and architect HB Storck, who were working on the reconstruction of the church. Storck and S. jointly produced a watercolor draft with motifs from the Old Testament for the decoration of the north nave wall above the round arches, but it was not until A. Jerndorff in 1890 refused to take on the decoration that S. was invited to take on the task. From 1895-97, S. together with Storck prepared a draft, in which each motif is placed in the intended place in the cathedral. The program for the decoration was created in collaboration with Bishop Swane. It begins on the west wall of the northern aisle with Adam, who gives the animals names, and ends in the apse with the blessing Christ, surrounded by the company of the blessed. The motifs from the Old Testament are placed around the windows of the aisles and above the triforia of the central aisle so that they symbolically bind the church space together. Motifs from the New Testament can be seen in the transept and choir. Despite the use of many helpers, the decoration is the result of the work of one man, as S.'s overall style is the basis for the overall effect. It is a folk picture bible in the Grundtvigian spirit. Motif-wise, S. is inspired by antiquity, early Christian art, the Renaissance and the Danish Golden Age, while the models for the figures are from S.'s own circle of friends. In 1911, according to S.'s design, 8 light-bearing bronze angels were installed in the nave, modeled on the Greek statue The Charioteer in Delphi, a glass mosaic with singing angels was inserted in the west gable, and in 1912-13 a new wooden ceiling in the nave was painted with motifs from the childhood of Christ and the prophets. The decoration of Viborg Cathedral is one of the largest assignments a Danish artist has ever received, and it was created in an exemplary collaboration with faithful helpers, with Niels Larsen Stevns taking first place. Despite criticism, the decoration today stands as an absolute masterpiece in Danish art. Alongside the large religious assignments, S. continued to paint secular motifs, including folk songs, which he executed both in tapestries and as book illustrations. S. must be considered a leading figure among the artists who, around the turn of the century, created a decorative style based on Danish principles.

Source: Weilbach's Artists' Encyclopedia