Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Marsden Hartley – Elsa Copenhagen (1916)
- Specifications
- Description
- The Maker
- Brand:Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Denmark
- Country: Printed in Denmark
- SKU: LA-102036-FJ
- Material: Printed on paper.
- Dimensions:16.5" x 23.4" (A2)
Marsden Hartley was both a painter and poet and lived much of his life as a nomad between Europe and the United States. Although he was almost always on the move, he never came to Copenhagen. The picture here is thus a geometrically inspired depiction of a Danish ship that was anchored in the harbor in Boston.
Hartley's many travels resulted in a series of deeply original groups of works from 1906 to 1943&mdahs;works that can be seen as a bridge between European and American modernism.
Among the works are abstract paintings based on military symbols from the horrors of the First World War, almost surreal landscapes from New Mexico and feminized figure paintings of muscular working men.
Marsden Hartley was centrally located in art life both in Europe and at home. But nevertheless, Hartley's art has been largely unknown&mdahs;perhaps because of the multifaceted nature of the work, which has made it difficult to place him in art history.
Louisiana's exhibition became one of the largest presentations of Marsden Hartley's art. With over 110 paintings, the exhibition covered the artist's entire work, including his work as a poet and essayist.
From the beginning, the founder, Knud W. Jensen, intended for the museum to be a home for modern Danish art. But after only a few years he changed course, and instead of being a predominantly Danish collection, Louisiana became an international museum with many internationally renowned works.
Louisiana's close contact and collaboration with the international arts and cultural milieu has since been one of the museum's greatest strengths. And also one of the main reasons that it has been possible for Louisiana to present an exhibition program that has resonated so strongly with the public over the years. Louisiana has thus achieved a standing as one of the world's most respected exhibition venues, and in the future, it will be able to attract exhibitions and artists at a level that few other museums—either in Denmark or abroad—can match.
Knud W. Jensen put into action many of the period's visionary ideas about modern museum operation, including a desire for art to have a wide audience. It has always been the view at Louisiana that art is not just for an elite but includes experiences and visions for the many.
Why is it called Louisiana?
Many people wonder about the name of the museum. The short explanation is this—a nobleman and his three wives.
Knud W. Jensen chose to "take over" the name of the country house that he later converted to a museum. The property had been built and named in 1855 by Alexander Brun (1814-93), who was an officer and Master of the Royal Hunt and who married three women who were all named Louise.
Here at Louisiana, he was a pioneer in beekeeping and the cultivation of fruit trees.
From the beginning, it was Knud W. Jensen's vision to create a museum with soul, where the public could encounter artwork—not as something pretentious, but rather something that spoke directly to the viewer. And he emphasized the need for "supplementary content" that could help bring alive and enrich the environment: The more opportunities for experience that the program offers, the more Louisiana lives up to its idea—to be a 'musical meeting place' and a milieu that is engaged in contemporary life.
—Knud W. Jensen
