Peder Mørk Mønsted

Biography

Peder Mørk Mønsted was born on December 10, 1859, in Balle Mølle near the Danish Baltic Sea coast town of Grenaa. The family was well off, his father being a shipbuilder. His artistic talent revealed itself early on during his school years, and he began receiving private painting lessons from landscape painter Andreas Fritz. From 1875, he studied landscape and portrait painting at the Art Academy in Copenhagen under Frederik Vermehren, Julius Exner and Niels Simonsen. His style was further influenced by his work at Peder Severin Krøyer’s studio and later, in 1882-1883, at the studio of famous Frenchman William Adolphe Bouguereau. Both of these masters had their own way of incorporating lighting moods into their painting, and thus became pioneers of Impressionism. On his study tours, Mønsted visited Italy, Switzerland and Paris, and travelled through Middle East and North Africa. His works were displayed at numerous exhibitions in Charlottenburg as well as in the salons of Munich and Paris. Soon after the turn of the century, he was considered among the most famous Danish artists. His works, for instance, had great success at the Paris World Fair in 1889 and at the 1892 International Art Exhibition at the Glaspalast in Munich. His snow-, forest- and seascapes, masterfully painted and flooded with light, were especially sought-after due to their superb technique, and are still in great demand on the international art market.