Danish country landscape near town Silkeborg was executed by important European realist painter Peder Mørk Mønsted 1859 - 1941) . Born at the end of the “golden age” of Danish painting, Peder Mork Monsted (1859-1941) was a landscape painter renowned for the clarity of light that typified the artists of that time.

Mønsted was born at Grenå, Denmark. He was the son of Otto Christian Mønsted and Thora Johanne Petrea Jorgensen. His father was a prosperous ship-builder. At an early age, he began receiving painting lessons at the art school in Aarhus. From 1875 to 1879, studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts with Niels Simonsen and Julius Exner. In 1878, Mønsted studied under the artist Peder Severin Krøyer. In 1882, he spent some time in Rome and Capri then, the following year, visited Paris, where he worked in the studios of William Adolphe Bouguereau.

In 1889, he went to Algeria. Three years later, he traveled to Greece, where he was a guest of King George I who had been born a Danish prince. While there, he also did portraits of the Greek royal family. After that, he visited Egypt and Spain.

During his later years, he spent a great deal of time in Switzerland and traveling throughout the Mediterranean His travels produced numerous sketches that became paintings he presented at several international exhibitions. Most of his landscapes were dedicated to Scandinavia. He was especially popular in Germany, where he held several shows at the Glaspalast in Munich. Most of his works are in private collections. In 1995, a major retrospective, called "Light of the North", was held in Frankfurt am Main.

Literature : Thieme/Becker "Lexicon of artists from antique to contemporary", Leipzig, 1999; on-line wikipedia.

Inscription: signed lower left: "P.Mönsted, Virklund, 1907", on the back of stretcher titled "Thorsö ad Silkeborg". (For reference: Thorsö is a village near town Silkeburg; town Virklund is located five kilometers south of Silkeborg - which it serves as a satellite city. Both cities are in the Danish Central Jutland ).

Technique: oil on canvas. Original antique gold-plated frame.

Measurements: unframed w 21 1/8" x h 15 1/2" (53,5 x 39,5 cm), framed w 27 1/2" x h 22 1/8" (70 x 56 cm ).

Condition: in very good condition.