A Breath of Fresh Sea Air

In late 2021, the museum acquired a painting by Louise Bonfils (1856–1933). We were excited to see it in person—and it did not disappoint. Standing firmly on the shore, the artist captured her impression of a windy, overcast day. She worked quickly, but with a confident hand.

Bonfils used the wet-on-wet technique, applying layers of oil paint before the previous layers had dried so that colours and brushstrokes blended directly on the canvas. In skilled hands, the thick paint can rise from the surface—and this is precisely what Bonfils achieved in her view of the north coast of Zealand. The brown dabs resemble real seaweed, while the water in the middle distance appears almost fluid. Above, the clouds seem to move across the sky, created with visible brushstrokes sweeping in different directions.

We otherwise know relatively little about Louise Bonfils. She has been described as “Denmark’s first woman marine painter”, and we know that she studied under Laurits Tuxen and P.S. Krøyer at the Artists’ Independent Study Schools. The museum’s newly acquired painting reveals an artist fully in step with the latest artistic developments. It is a true open-air painting, created directly before the subject using pure, unmixed colours. Women at the time were generally expected to be delicate and unable to withstand harsh weather. Bonfils undoubtedly faced more than one kind of headwind during her career.

Many works by 19th-century women artists are in poor condition. In late 2020, The Hirschsprung Collection received special funding from the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces to help address this problem. Bonfils’s painting was among the works treated as part of the project. Following careful and thorough cleaning, its delicate greys and subtle turquoise tones can once again be fully appreciated.

The sea is fresh once more, and The Hirschsprung Collection is richer by one small masterpiece.

Louise Bonfils: Coastal Scene with Fishermen, Ålsgårde, with Kullen in the Background, 1889. The Hirschsprung Collection.