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JOHANN BERTHELSEN (Am. 1888-1972)
Johann Berthelsen painted exquisitely rendered landscapes of New York City, judged poetic by contemporary critics. Ironically, however, it was music, not art, to which Berthelsen originally aspired.
A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Berthelsen was six when his family immigrated to the United States in 1889. When he was eighteen, Berthelsen studied music and voice for four years at the Chicago Musical College on a scholarship. He was an excellent musician and won the gold medal for singing his last two years. Following his graduation, he toured the United States and Canada as lead baritone for the Grand Opera Company, after which he taught voice - first at his alma mater and then at the Indiana Conservatory of Music. In 1920, Berthelsen opened a private studio in New York City where he gave voice lessons.
Although he devoted most of his time to music and singing, Berthelsen painted for his own pleasure. In 1932, he realized he could paint full time and make a better living. Berthelsen initially established his artistic reputation with his work in pastels. Working with small canvases, he found inspiration in New York City’s Central Park, rendering this setting most effectively in its seasonal transformations. He painted similar scenes in and of Chicago. They also met with popular acclaim.
Having achieved success as a pastelist, Berthelsen turned his attention to oils. He returned to the fundamentals of drawing in order to discover a technique appropriate to the medium. Berthelsen used a heavy impasto to almost palpably render his landscapes and his city snowscapes. Berthelsen also painted still lifes. Unlike his landscapes, these works are clearly defined with a rouge of bright colors.
Berthelsen died in 1969, and he was a member of the Allied Artists of America and the America Watercolor Society.
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