Peder Mork Monsted
Danish
(1859-1941)
What does it mean to be the “product of a generation” I wondered…?
“It means that you are in agreement with the ideas and values of the time you grew up in…The idea is that generally-accepted ideas change over time, and it is not fair to judge someone who lived hundreds of years ago by today’s standards…” – answer quoted from Wiki-Answers
Peder Mork Monsted is said to be a product of his generation. If that is true, then in order to understand him, it is important to know what the generation was like that he lived in. Another way to look at this is to look at the type of paintings that Monsted painted, and you will see the type of things that appealed to the average person at that time.
Peder Mork Monsted was born shortly after 50 of the most remarkable years that Denmark had ever seen, known today as their Golden Age. Although artistically isolated from other countries, Denmark produced a body of paintings collectively, that was very similar in feel and temperament, if not technique.
The landscape was the defining subject in the artwork. The artists went into the countryside looking for the best way to capture their beloved country. The problem that many of them faced is that their beloved Denmark was all but gone. Their aim was to paint a romantic feeling about the countryside in a simple, straightforward, unpretentious way (like the Danish people), with unsurpassed clarity of light and attention to detail. However, there was almost no unspoiled landscape left for them to paint. I think Monsted recognized that it was not necessary to capture only the pristine landscape, but also the people who inhabit it involved in a daily routine.
The artists of the Danish Golden Age, and Monsted himself, never let technique become a distraction from the portrayal of their countryside; it is always subordinated to let the viewer see the subject clearly. The colors are most often clean, tasteful, with an emphasis on sunlight, the quality of day, and ethereal effects.