Emil Carlsen: CONSCIOUS PAINTING | Kathy McNenly
As artists we do not live in a vacuum. We are influenced by the painters who have come before us. Sometimes we stumble upon an artist who has been overlooked, but we see immediately the genius behind their work.
For me, Emil Carlsen is definitely one of the great still life painters and has, in recent years, become an inspiration to many of us who work in this genre. His son Dines Carlsen, carried on the tradition of his father in many ways. His still lifes are very similar in style however Dines’ paintings focused even more on the textural qualities of objects.
My most recent painting (in progress) is an homage to Carlsen. I am enjoying the serenity and unity of the composition and the challenge of representing different textures.
Emil Carlsen, Still life with Teapot and Onion, Oil on canvas 1916
Based on an essay from Kim Lykke Jensen | EMIL CARLSEN: CONSCIOUS PAINTING
During his nearly 70 year career, Danish-American painter and teacher, Emil Carlsen practiced and evangelized conscious painting. In his lifetime, Carlsen witnessed the erosion of time tested painting practices in favor of more Modern self-expression; or the opposite extreme, slavish copying of the observed world with the rise of the camera.
Emil Carlsen, The Brass teapot, oil on canvas 1903
Painting for Carlsen was best thoughtfully translated to the canvas through the filter of the mind. As he eloquently states, “…facts are not facts, but all painting is a translation. Certain problems must be translated. The sun’s reflection on moving water cannot be painted except as a suggestion. The polished surface of a copper pot can be painted, but the painter must choose his key and subordinate either surface or high light.”
For Carlsen, each stroke of a paintbrush represented a simultaneous mixture of skills, thoughtful deployment of painting strategy and judgment, and the larger problem of composition and design. Carlsen’s thoughts on the importance of design can be seen in an essay to students selecting still-life items to paint, “The arrangement well spaced, the objects good in color and form, the background simple and neutral, the key chosen, and half of the work is done.”
Japanese Teapot and Vase