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Lot Essay
Johan Laurents Jensen was the leading flower painter of the Danish Golden Age. The line, clarity and almost architectural sense of composition that emanates from Jensen's canvases was instilled by his training under the neo-classical painter, Christoffer Eckersberg. His mastery of flower painting was learned under Claus Fritzch, a specialist in the genre and in 1822-23, in France, at the Sèvres porcelain factory, where he studied with the famous Dutch brothers, Gerard and Cornelis van Spaendonck.
Jensen enjoyed royal patronage from a young age. It was the president of the Copenhagen Academy, later Christian VIII, who supported his trip to France, and from 1825 to 1840 he was head painter at the royal porcelain factory. He was a prolific exhibitor at Charlottenborg, the Danish equivalent of the Paris Salon and receiving numerous commissions from the royal family, including this painting.
Unusally large, this painting exhibits all the hallmarks for which Jensen was most famed: the inclusion of tropical and exotic fruits (which he studied in the greenhouses of Rosenborg Castle); a symmetrical composition balanced on each side by the pineapples and trailing leaves on each side of the canvas; and an almost photographically detailed understanding of his subject matter, which harks back to the highest ideals of 17th century Dutch still life painting. The garland subject matter, scale, and symmetry of the painting suggest that it was probably executed for a specific architectural setting, either over a door or as an overmantel.
Jensen enjoyed royal patronage from a young age. It was the president of the Copenhagen Academy, later Christian VIII, who supported his trip to France, and from 1825 to 1840 he was head painter at the royal porcelain factory. He was a prolific exhibitor at Charlottenborg, the Danish equivalent of the Paris Salon and receiving numerous commissions from the royal family, including this painting.
Unusally large, this painting exhibits all the hallmarks for which Jensen was most famed: the inclusion of tropical and exotic fruits (which he studied in the greenhouses of Rosenborg Castle); a symmetrical composition balanced on each side by the pineapples and trailing leaves on each side of the canvas; and an almost photographically detailed understanding of his subject matter, which harks back to the highest ideals of 17th century Dutch still life painting. The garland subject matter, scale, and symmetry of the painting suggest that it was probably executed for a specific architectural setting, either over a door or as an overmantel.