Whitewashing the Old House

1908 · Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

genre

The old woman Ane has opened her window and looks into the strong sunlight to exchange a few words with Per Nilen. Brandishing his brush and bucket of whitewash he is preparing her house for spring, his eyes squinting against the glare from the white wall. Having renovated the old school in Baldersbronde near Hedehusene, the painter moved there with his family in 1902.

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About the Artist

Laurits Andersen Ring

1854 – 1933

Danish painter. The son of a poor smallholder, he first trained as a house painter. He studied at the Kongelige Akademi for de Skønne Kunster, Copenhagen, under Frederik Vermehren (1823-1910) from 1874 to 1877, and then under Johan Julius Exner (1825-1910) from 1884 to 1885. In 1885 he also trained at the Kunstnernes Studieskoler under Peter Severin Krøyer. Ring's landscapes and genre pictures frequently deal with social themes. In 1889 he traveled via Hamburg to Paris where he was impressed by Millet and Raffaëlli. The clear composition of his pictures reveals his interest in Japanese art.

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