Education
He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen under Sigurd Wandel and Aksel Jørgensen where he quickly gained a reputation as a talented artist.
He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen under Sigurd Wandel and Aksel Jørgensen where he quickly gained a reputation as a talented artist.
Born in Frederiksberg, Hartz was first instructed in art at the age of 19 by the German Expressionist painter, Fritz Urschbach who aroused his interest in naturalism. Suffering from schizophrenia, his health deteriorated from about 1935, requiring him to be hospitalised more and more frequently. Yet even after permanent hospitalisation in Nykøbing Sjælland in 1942, he continued to paint, participating in the exhibitions of the Corner group of which he had been a founding member.
Hartz" earlier portraits, landscapes and still lifes were characterised by thick layers of paint.
With time, the human form disappeared as his style became more sketchy. The once vivid colours were increasingly thinned down.
Ultimately he reverted just to drawings and watercolours. The Holstebro Museum of Art in north-west Jutland holds the largest collection of Lauritz Hartz’ works with over 3,000 of his drawings and paintings.
He is considered to be a member of the group of artists known as the Odsherred Painters, especially as he joined them in forming Corner.