Julius Paulsen

Julius Paulsen won early attention in the Danish art world. Throughout his life, he was successful and recognized for his puppet, portrait and landscape painting, counting many of the Skagen painters as his companions. However, it was his portraits and ability to capture his subject’s personality that earned him the recognition of his contemporaries. His portraits were often characterized by a detailed face set against hazy backgrounds.

From 1879-82, Paulsen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in København, but found the artists there too uninspired and sought connection to more radical circles. On several trips he visited Amsterdam and Paris. There he was inspired by Rembrandt and the French salon and was particularly influenced by Claude Monet. In the last decade of the 19th century, he was finally recognized by the Academy and received several awards, including the Thorvaldsen Medal. In 1908, he became a professor at the København Academy.

Of Paulsen’s three 1932 entries, “Skytten” (“Archer”) is an oil painting measuring 65 x 85 cm. The other two works could be two of his relatively rare male nudes.