In the blue wave. Willumsen and the bathing children

September 7, 2016 - January 8, 2017

The focal point of the exhibition In the blue wave. Willumsen and the bathing children is Willumsen's main work Sun and youth from 1910, on loan for the exhibition from the Gothenburg Museum of Art. The painting is both a major work in Danish art and within Nordic vitalism. Yet few Danes have actually seen the picture, as it has not been exhibited in Denmark since 1912. The dress rehearsal for the painting can be found at the JF Willumsens Museum – Children bathing on Skagen Beach – a work that many consider to be the definitive one. The exhibition will present the two paintings together for the first time.

The exhibition In the blue wave. Willumsen and the bathing children presents Willumsen's two monumental bathing paintings through different themes:

THE WORK PROCESS: FROM IDEA TO FINISHED WORK

Here the work's extensive process of creation, the artistic experiments, and the development of the motif unfold. The entire working process can be followed, partly through Willumsen's letters, diary entries and photographs, and partly through his extensive sketch material. Willumsen created both small, modeled figures and hundreds of drawn and painted sketches, where he closely studied different figure compositions, worked on color, light and shadow relationships, and experimented with the landscape staging.

PROLOGUE: THE ART HISTORICAL CONTEXT

This theme focuses on the art historical and cultural trends that inspired the form and content of Willumsen's bathing paintings, and examines why the reception of Sun and youth was so reserved. This part of the exhibition includes, among other things, bathing pictures of PS Krøyer and Laurits Tuxen, respectively.

WILLUMSEN'S TECHNIQUE AND USE OF COLOR

The technique Willumsen used to produce Children bathing on Skagen Beach og Sun and youth differs markedly from his other paintings. He himself explained that the painting method should be guided by the subject, and therefore everything had to give way to the consideration of light and life force. In an almost pointillist manner, he has used short, rapid brushstrokes, placed close together, to emphasize the dynamics and vital character of the subject.

TOURISM: BEACH LIFE AND BATHING CULTURE

The theme illuminates the relationship between Willumsen's bathing pictures and the burgeoning tourism and bathing culture of the period. It was no coincidence that Willumsen chose to go to Skagen in 1906 and again in 1909 to work with the motif of bathing children. It was partly here that some of Denmark's foremost representatives of the plein air painting of the 1880s and 1890s were gathered, and partly around 1900 Skagen was transforming itself from a secluded fishing village far from civilization into a fashionable seaside resort. Here, the modern city dweller could relax and heal from all sorts of mental and physical ailments, for example by taking a walk on the beach, enjoying the fresh air, sunbathing and, not least, bathing in the healing sea.

THE HEALTHY AND NATURAL BODY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NUDITY

In Willumsen's bathing pictures, naked, playful children and young people appear as symbols of joy in life, naturalness and unity with nature. As a viewer, you are imperceptibly seduced by the idea of ​​the ideal and unspoiled way of life that the pictures seem to promote. Willumsen has also completely omitted any form of clothing and other objects that could help to time the subject, and thus link it to a specific period. As a viewer, you are therefore confronted with the naked body of the child and young person as a cultural construction. How do we interpret and read the naked body – then and now? Perhaps we are a little offended or embarrassed?

The exhibition has been created in collaboration with Skagens Art Museums.

“In the Blue Wave” has received support from: 15. June Foundation, AP Møller and Wife Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation for General Purposes, Augustinus Foundation, Beckett Foundation, Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik Foundation, Consul George Jorck and Wife Emma Jorck's Foundation, New Carlsberg Foundation, Attorney General L. Zeuthen's Memorial Grant, Friends of Skagens Museum, Spar Nord Foundation, Toyota Foundation, Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation.