Get an introduction to the current special exhibition

THE ART OF COLOURS AND THE FUNEN PAINTERS

The Funen Painters quite literally ‘thought in colours’. They were fascinated by the different colour and light in the course of the day and the experience of that special presence a picture transmits. Equally important were the distinctive colours of their homes in intense shades of blue, yellow, green and red. The art of the Funen Painters is rooted in a dialogue between colour and historical surroundings. Here in Kerteminde you can discover the colours of the Funen painters in the home of the artists Alhed and Johannes Larsen; in Faaborg, in the museum building.

 The Art of Colours and the Funen Painters is a collaboration between Faaborg Museum and the Johannes Larsen Museum, based on a common goal: to shed new light on both well-known and lesser-known works from the museum’s collections by spotlighting colour and the painters’ palette.

 There are works by Alhed and Johannes Larsen, Anna and Fritz Syberg, Peter Hansen, Jens Birkholm, Christine Swane, and a host of other painters associated with this group of artists. For the project, the two main museums devoted to the works of the Funen Painters – in Faaborg and Kerteminde – are exchanging works to devise two voyages through and studies of art history. The colours of these artists have not previously received separate attention. The exhibitions invite visitors to enjoy an illuminating, unpretentious and intuitive approach to their art, based on the special understandings of the colour and pictorial affects that appear in their works.

 The structure of the exhibition is based on categories of colour in the works of the Funen Painters – blue, blue-ochre, yellow-golden, red, green, white, complementary colours – and the colours of overcast weather. The exhibition features oil paintings, a number of pastel works and a room devoted to watercolours. Visitors to the exhibition can also see examples of the colour scheme in the artists’ home and Johannes Larsen’s frescoes. They can explore or make an active contribution with their thoughts and questions about colours. Maybe this exhibition and the art and colours of the Funen Painters can even inspire new colour schemes in people’s homes?

 The two museums would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the project’s many collaborators, especially the foundations that have so kindly provided their support, the authors of the publication and the helpful volunteers at both museums.