Viggo Johansen 1887

Curator: This portrait, rendered with visible brushstrokes and plein-air techniques, is titled "Viggo Johansen". Peder Severin Krøyer completed it in 1887. What's your initial take on it? Editor: It feels like a quiet observation, doesn't it? Intimate almost, despite being a profile. There's a muted palette that brings a certain seriousness or pensiveness to it. Curator: I agree. It's tempting to imagine what Johansen might have been contemplating when Krøyer captured this image. They were colleagues, part of the Skagen group, which created a bohemian refuge in Northern Denmark. There is an unspoken solidarity in how Krøyer depicts Johansen here. Editor: Solidarity, yes, but also perhaps Krøyer reflecting on his own position as part of the cultural elite of the late 19th century. This artistic circle, while innovative, remained a world apart from those facing socio-economic challenges at the time. Does Krøyer’s portrayal capture his awareness of that? Curator: That’s a piercing point. These portraits are never simple records, but complicated negotiations between subject and artist, patron and politics, identity and aesthetics. I notice Krøyer using very loose brushstrokes, seemingly spontaneous and yet quite controlled. It captures an immediacy. You almost feel the man's presence, you know? The momentariness. Editor: The cap, the beard... They root him in the everyday, in a specific social context. But that style, bordering on impressionistic, elevates him—removes him from any very clear associations of class and instead locates him within the romantic ideal of the artistic figure. Is Krøyer then suggesting Viggo's "everyman" qualities? Is this how Viggo wants to be seen? It opens so many fascinating questions about identity and perception! Curator: Absolutely. And consider the oil paint. Such tactile strokes. So evocative. I love that this work lets us access these complexities on what looks like such a casually observed scale. I'll leave thinking about those questions. Editor: Me too. Krøyer gives us just enough information, or perhaps mis-information, to stir powerful contemplations around art, identity, and history. It certainly makes for more questions than answers!