Soren Emil Carlsen painter of exquisite still lifes and landscapes video by Gammell Lack Institute of Art, 2024

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Soren Emil Carlsen, Painter of Exquisite Still Lifes and Landscapes
Jul 19, 2024
13:04 minutes
Gammell Lack Institute of Art

still life painting is a modest art the
pots and pans or the fruit Andor flowers
the unassuming elements of composing a
still life picture inevitably make the
painter and the art as modest as
themselves and so in keeping with the
character of real picture making it is
our aim to Endeavor to present in a
simple way as possible the charm of
still life painting and its Noble
development this presentation is
intended for lovers of art conscious of
the fact that art in its basic elements
and components is nevertheless a high
calling and still life a noble and
worthy art form and in some cases truly
Exquisite in every
way Emil Carson is just that Noble and
true original an artist and the
appreciation of his still life painting
has grown in recent times with the
development of taste and understanding
of the true meaning of art yes Carlson
was a true master of his craft the
technical Brilliance he achieved by
textural contrasts handling of form and
the harmonic poetry of his coloring set
him apart for neither art nor its
appreciation can ever stagnate or
decline in its real value even for a
moment but in a sense the pursuit of
still life painting is a return in as
much as it reached its height in the
17th century with the Dutch painters yet
today the aesthetically cultivated
person regards a fine example of nature
whether items painted on a table or
window sill or a draped wall of antique
casts the painter Delights with the same
pleasure as he would a landscape or a
portrait one is forced to admit however
that a certain amount of connoisseurship
is demanded and then the real
appreciation is unveiled over every inch
of canvas
saurin Amil Carlson was born in 1848 in
Copenhagen Denmark and he became well
known for his still life works and later
in his career expanded his choice of
subjects to include Landscapes and
seascapes during his long career he won
many of the most important honors in
America and was elected to membership in
the National Academy of
Design Emil Carlson was raised in the
Danish capital of Copenhagen he came
from an artistic
family his mother also painted and
encouraged him to continue his art while
attending architecture classes at the
Royal Academy in Copenhagen for 4 years
before immigrating to the United States
in
1872 interested in painting he studied
with the Danish Marine artist loritz
Holst however Hol decided to return to
Denmark leaving his Studio to Carlson
where he made rapid progress and was a
appointed the first teacher of drawing
and painting at the Chicago Academy of
Design however like many artists of the
period Carlson sought more training and
left for Paris in
1875 where he came under the influence
of the French still life painter Jean
Baptist Simeon
shardan when he returned to the United
States he set up a studio in New York
and began to paint remarkable still
lives that were well received however
selling work was still a struggle after
several moves to Boston and to New York
he again struggled to sell his paintings
so in 1879 he held an auction to help
ease his financial situation but ended
up selling only a few paintings this
compelled him to give up his studio and
take up engraving with which he found
some success despite his frustration at
not being able to paint
fulltime the acceptance of a still life
in the exhibition of the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts in
1883 was the first noteworthy event in
his career it has been said of his work
that Carlson Has Lifted his art to a
height it has never reached before this
is a strong statement but it can be well
supported doubtless some modernists will
not agree to this but the charm of his
constructions remains original and that
will
remain while Carlson’s art is obviously
grounded on the Dutch painters and on
shardan they the similarity stops and
the inventive mind of the painter begins
his compositions are challenging in the
various compositional designs he sets
before us moreover along with that his
preoccupation over pictorial design
comes the paint handling and granular
textures that absolutely take over as a
spectacle in
itself one could spend many hours over
his Works to study the careful
manipulation of the Globs and scrapings
of pigment that Define the forms of a
given pot or grouping of clouds or the
strewn leaves covering wooded Landscapes
all are simply marvelous to
behold another Observer has stated the
work done by the few Independents
especially in still life is interesting
whatever may be their permanent
influence in figure painting they have
already opened up new fields in painting
but Carlson is as modern as independent
as
anybody with similar methods and
materials he has given a new
interpretation to still life a more
difficult and a more certain
accomplishment is a result of
experimenting with new theories and
employing new
processes we can apply to Carlson what a
good still life painting ought to be so
often the question arises with the
mysteries of art is his art the
expression of profound
experiences Visions or
emotions are his still life’s
interpretations of these experiences
do we The Observers share in the
artist’s experiences one cannot help but
feel after studying several examples of
Carlson’s Still Life Works that the
painter experiences in his work emotions
of an aesthetic character more profound
than with those of the Observer
only without the searching intensity
that reaches a bit deeper into the thing
seen that seeks to analyze what is
before the painter and describe more
personally the emotion felt in the
discoveries locked in
nature one knows there is a science to
every aspect of the visible world but
for the artist comes the blank white
canvas that longs to interpret the forms
and colorings in a personal way with
whatever tools are there to help begin
the story with any of the great masters
of still life painting from Chase and
Fantan lur back through to the Flemish
Masters objects delighted the eyes of
these artists describing every part of
outward facade their unique contrasting
forms their delicate coloring their Rich
textures and tonal Unity were all
possibilities for them as elements for
Rich
design but objects had a more mystical
meaning to Carlson they Delight his
outward eye as they do any painter but
Carlson has an inward eye a rational
faculty for for Discerning all that
anyone else ever saw but more a rhythm
and music and poetry a Serenity and
dignity and Sublimity which makes his
still life groupings classic or
lasting when gazing at a Carson still
life one falls into the same
contemplative mood as one does over the
words of Shakespeare or sometimes one
feels the mystery that unites both types
of methods with a simple use of color on
its own terms as a third option to
explore as we find with the great
soroya whatever the intent of the
painter it is incumbent to remain
faithful to Nature as she provides the
way
forward one wonders why until one
remembers that it is not necessarily the
subject matter that contributes to one’s
mood what leads one to contemplation
before a canvas by Carlson is the
liberty of his Viewpoint which by his
own methods makes us
contemplate these methods consist of
broad overarching Skies a very fine
balance of forms and spaces and
genuiness in his
figures what urges one to psychologic
speculation before his work is due to
the attitude of profound study on the
part of the
painter the elusive Shadows that play
about the landscape and its features of
Rich pigment the objects are enveloped
in a soft atmospheric light
that subdues their outlines and half
hides their shapes as the painter is
taught of Lost and Found occurrences in
nature as he shows them to us they are
not literal things lifeless or matter of
fact the artist has made a pleasing
Arrangement they are forms that we
cannot explain they elude us mystify us
ens snare us we forget what they are
until finally we find ourselves in a
speculative dream world where we would
like to
stay we vaguely realize that we have
experienced a new sensation of beauty
and that our appreciation for beautiful
things more keenly after all what can
art do for us more than this can a
picture by tishan or rembrand or wau do
more than awaken more fully our
perceptions of
beauty and as one artist has observed
what more can we ask of
art now that we’ve covered Carlson’s
unique qualities in still life painting
it behooves us to take a deeper look
into His Brilliant qualities concerning
landscape if there were such a thing as
pure poetry of paint manipulation it
would certainly apply to the work of
Carlson’s
Landscapes seeing many of his wooded
landscapes in the flesh is a treat
indeed while he accomplishes his goal to
to portray nature with a certain truth
he goes well beyond that to the lyrical
tonalism that is so captivating when
done
well the breathless harmonies of his
work as he renders a tree or field or a
dense forest with a soft running stream
are
astonishing it does not take just the
artist side to appreciate his tonal
acurity but almost anyone can feel the
emotion of the scene in his performance
as a great Handler of paint
it has been accurately stated by
artists that one must not be a slave to
recording only the facts but to find a
way to personalize what is before the
eye to give it
life some painters may use expressive
brush work while others look to the
linear elements of design that permit a
certain Arabesque and lyrical flow of
the network of lines and spaces but we
see with Emil Carlson the poised
Elegance in each stroke on the canvas
we have looked at Carlson’s work with
glowing terms it’s true but they are
well Justified as time goes on and his
canvases whether still life or landscape
or indeed a figure are shown we are
mesmerized by his ability to reach
deeply and his sincere searching out of
the capabilities of beautiful design and
the accompanying technical Brilliance he
worked diligently at we are ever
grateful for he has left us to enjoy and
consider what fine art really is art
that moves us is why the craft of
painting continues new generations will
add to the story but the whole history
of mankind to portray nature through ART
and search out the richness of life will
remain and will be recorded in some way
or fashion we also want to mention dinus
Carlson his son as an accomplished
painter as well his work is reminiscent
of his father in many ways finally we
hope you enjoyed this look at me Carlson
we found him an interesting figure in
art and worthy of more interest so with
that thank you and don’t forget to
subscribe and add a like as it helps a
lot and we look to bring many more great
painters out from the vaults of past art
so until next time it’s bye for now
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