Carl Christian Constantin Hansen

Baptised in Vienna, Hansen was named Constantin in memory of his godmother Constance, the widow of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Having first trained as an architect at the Copenhagen Academy, he turned to painting in 1825 and was apprenticed to Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, who was to have a lasting influence on him. Inspired by Eckersberg, Hansen developed a realistic approach to nature, which was charac­terised by refined colouring and a faithful rendering of light and atmo­sphere. Between 1835 and 1844 the artist lived and worked in Italy where, though moving among the Danish artists grouped around Bertel Thorvaldsen, he adhered to his true-to-life, objectivist view of art. The frescoes Hansen made for Copenhagen University between 1844 and 1853 together with his friend Georg Hilker (1807–1875) are considered his most important work.

He ranks as one of the foremost represen­tatives of the Golden Age of Danish painting. Between 1824 and 1878 Hansen participated in the exhibitions of the Copenhagen Academy in Charlottenburg, being appointed its deputy director in 1873. This sensitive nature study arose in 1834 in Tyrol when he was on his way to Italy. Painted en plein air, its freshness and genuine affinity with nature illustrate all the virtues of Hansen’s art. The cool, fresh white of the rushing stream forms a delightful contrast with the autumn colours of the foliage and the overcast sky.

Provenance: From the estate cata­logue of the artist, Copenhagen 1880, no. 17; collection of Con­sul Schierbeck, Helsingor.
Literature: E. Hannover. Maleren Constantin Hansen – En Studie I Dansk Kunsthistorie. Copen­hagen 1901, no. 93