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Edvard Weie Edit Profile

also known as Viggo Thorvald Edvard Weie

painter

Viggo Thorvald Edvard Weie was a Danish Modernist painter. His style was influenced by journeys to Italy and Paris where he came into contact with French impressionists such as Cézanne.

Background

Edvard Weie was born on November 18, 1879, in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father went away when Edvard was still very young and left his family in poverty. To help out, he would deliver newspapers every morning before school and later worked as a house painter.

Education

Despite the hardships in his life, he was able to take art lessons. When he came of age, he went to Copenhagen to apply for admission to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, but was not accepted.

Career

It was not until 1905, when Edvard was already twenty-five years old, that he was able to enter the Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler, operated by Kristian Zahrtmann. It was there that he was introduced to modern art. He became a favored apprentice and accompanied Zahrtmann on a trip to Italy in 1907, but returned prematurely when they had a falling-out.

Back in Denmark, he painted a series of interiors and landscapes. From 1911 to 1920, he would spend part of every year painting on the island of Christiansø. It was there he met the Swedish painter Karl Isakson. After Isakson's early death in 1922, Weie made an extensive study of his uses of color, and applied what he learned to his own works.

He had begun by painting works with a mythological or literary basis, but later came to favor street scenes and views of Copenhagen harbor. He would often paint several versions of the same concept. Due to his intense self-criticism, many of these would end up in the fire. Over the years, his works became increasingly abstract.

He was awarded the Eckersberg Medal in 1925, but he was not a member of any artistic movement and contributed numerous harsh critical pieces to newspapers and magazines that served to isolate him from his peers. In his later years, he rarely exhibited, but gave much of his time to writing a book that would clearly summarize his opinions. It was published posthumously, in 1951, by his widow, under the title "Poesi og Kultur." The artist died on April 9, 1943 in Frederiksberg, Denmark.

Achievements

  • Edvard Weie was graetly famous for his paintings "View over Wilder's Square, Christianshavn", "Interior with Artist's Sister, Emma Weie", "Poseidon farer over havet omgivet af nereider og tritone", and "View of Langelinie."

Works

  • painting

    • View over Wilder's Square, Christianshavn

      1906
    • Interior with Artist's Sister, Emma Weie

      1910
    • Sunrise, Christiansø

      1915
    • Poseidon farer over havet omgivet af nereider og tritoner

      1917
All works

Views

Edvard Weie adhered to the artistic traditions of Post-Impressionism. He felt that contemporary Danish art was in a crisis and lacked human values.

Interests

  • Artists

    Paul Cézanne

Connections

Sister:
Emma Weie

tutor:
Kristian Zahrtmann