Skagen painters

Skagen is the name of a small fishing village in Denmark. Toward the end of the 19th century, several artists, the Skagen painters, made up a group of "plein air" painters who observed nature realistically, based on the model of the Barbizon school. Thematically, the artists adapted to the local occurrences of Skagen, which were also very well suited to outdoor painting. At Skagen, the North Sea meets the Baltic, so the Skagen painters worked accordingly with the play of the waves, which break against each other there, as well as with the light reflections on the water. In the same way, they observed the people at work or children playing on the beach. In particular, the bright Nordic light fascinated the painters and constitutes the particular charm of their paintings. As later Impressionists, they colored their shadows, and they also implemented complementary contrasts in order to intensify the luminosity of the colors. However, the Skagen painters did not only represent outdoor scenes in their work; interior settings are also permeated with light, which dominates these scenes as well.
The Skagen painters met regularly in a hotel that belonged to the father of one of the group members, Anna Ancher, in order to exchange ideas. Here they also established their own museum, the Skagen Museum.
The Skagen painters were: Michael and Anna Ancher, Viggo Johansen, P.S Krøyer, Marie Krøyer, Christian Krohg, Karl Locher, Karl Madsen, Lauritz Tuxen.