Carl (Jens Erik C.) Rasmussen (Danish 1841-1893)
The Ride Home, Greenland
oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left "Carl Rasmussen 1875" and "L. Wittusen 1884"
Size: 31 ¼ x 46 in (with frame 37 ¾ x 51 ¾ in)
J18916
This painting is a slightly larger version of a painting of the same subject titled “Wintertime in Greenland” which is held in the Danish Nivaagaard Collection. Completed the same year, both paintings are almost identical with the exception of the detail in the figures and the sky, with this painting being more precise.
"Rasmussen’s art was particularly ground-breaking in its portrayal of the lives of Greenlanders, where their everyday joys and sorrows were characterised with much realism and insight. In this painting he has captured a cheerful everyday moment where a group of children are speeding down a steep snow-blanketed hill on a sled and skis. One of the young skiers has lost his footing, while the other looks at the group in the sled, which is about to overtake them."
Danish artist Carl Rasmussen, known as the “Greenland Painter”, is famous for his marine subjects and paintings depicting the history of Greenland and the arctic way of life. He studied and exhibited at the Danish Royal Academy studying under and was influenced by well known artists C.F. Aagaard and C.F. Bloch. He visited Greenland in 1870 where he stayed for almost a year completing sketches which were later turned into oil paintings. He visited again in 1893 however on the return journey he disappeared while painting on the aft deck. Rasmussen worked in a naturalist style painting figures among cold northern seascapes and terrain, and depicting villagers in genre or portrait settings. His work has been inspirational to artists depicting Greenland and the arctic landscape.
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