The Wedding of the King’s Son

The Wedding of the King’s Son occupies a distinct place in Danish art history due to the unique story of its creation. The painting is originally completed in 1888 in the naturalistic style of the period. It is greeted with harsh criticism, particularly the appearance of the prince. The negative response apparently hits Willumsen hard, and he reacts by covering the couple with a star-shaped piece of paper. In 1948-49 Willumsen returns to the work, presumably in connection with the approaching opening of the museum. He inserts a new piece of canvas in the middle and repaints the bride and groom, this time in a highly simplified style and bold colours – a marked contrast to the paupers to the right of the painting.

The Wedding of the King’s Son depicts the encounter between the rich and poor, but it also represents the clash between two styles in Willumsen’s oeuvre: the naturalism of his earliest works, and the expressive style he developed as a mature artist. By returning to an early painting Willumsen charts his artistic development on the canvas before us. The work is thus not only a painting of a wedding scene, it is also picture of Willumsen’s lifelong project as an artist.