Still-life with Herbs in a Glass
  • Joakim Frederik Skovgaard
  • Copenhagen 1865 - 1933
  • Still-life with Herbs in a Glass, 1912
  • Oil on paper, mounted on canvas
  • signed with brush in black on the lower left: Joakim Skovgaard,
    dated on the lower right: 22 / 4’12.
  • 281 × 219 mm
Provenance:
Private collection, Hamburg

Joakim Frederik received his first artistic instructions in the atelier of his father, Peter Christian Skovgaard, until he took up studies at the Art Academy in Copenhagen in 1871. Even before finishing this formal education in 1876, the talented student received his first public commissions – for instance, for the decoration of the cathedral in Viborg. The young Skovgaard began an apprenticeship with Léon J. Bonnat in Paris in 1881, before furthering his artistic horizons with extensive travels through Italy and Greece. In 1909, however, he was called back to his homeland. There, he assumed a professorial post at his former Academy in Copenhagen, which he should preside over as director for several years after 1922. Over the course of his career, Skovgaard received numerous commendations and honourary memberships in other Art Academies as well.

This gem captivates the viewer through its old-masterly perfection in composition as well as in pictorial representation. The motif of herbs in a tumbler, simple on its own, has been lovingly arranged and splendidly illuminated in front of a dark background. Reflections of light and pearls of dew suggest a spontaneous glance, and even the little snail on the tabletop adds three-dimensionality.