Figure 1.--This charming Anders Peter Christian Aigens portrait shows a boy sitting at the window and reading in his book. Presumably this is a Danish boy, although we are not sure. We do not know when this portrait was paonted, but we would estimate about 1930. |
Anders Peter Christian Aigens was a listed Danish artist, well known for charming portraits of children. He lived for long period in both Switzerland and the Faroe Islands. He exhibited at Charlottenborg in Copenhagen during 1908-1940 and at several other Danish exhibitions. The painting here represents a charming portrait of a boy sitting at the window and reading in his book. I am not sure if the boy wears a collarless shirt or if it his underwear. He wears suspenders for his black shorts.
Anders Peter Christian Aigens was a listed Danish artist, well known for charming portraits of children. He also did some landscapes. He lived for long period in both Switzerland and the Faroe Islands. He exhibited at Charlottenborg in Copenhagen during 1908-40 and at several other Danish exhibitions.
Aigens was called Larsen at baptism but took on the name of Aigens around 1903.
Aigens was recommended to professor Vermehren who gave him a position at the Art Academy. He started with the foundation course in December of 1888 and stayed on till 1890. Aigens also went to a Technical College for some time. After his time at the Art Academy he he became a pupil of the Artists' Free Academy under Krøyer and Tuxer.
Aigens as a young man traveled to study, among other places to Switzerland for a year and a half from 1900. He was in the Faeroe Islands for another year and a half in 1906-1907. Furthermore he spent part of his summers in Skagen. He exhibited at Charlottenborg in Copenhagen during 1908-1940 and at several other Danish exhibitions.
Aigens was first and foremost a portraitist. In his early years he was partly influenced by Krøyer and Tuxer and he also felt much inspired by Jul Paulsen. Apart from a number of writers' portraits, among them several of his friend Chr. Engeltoft (between 1908 and 1932) he turned ro the common people of Denmark for his subject matter. He often painted Danish people at work. Aigens was well known for charming portraits of children. A reader writes, "Among my collection I own three Anders Peter Christian Aigens paintings. I have two of single boys at a window, and one of two boys playing at a table." He also did some landscapes--often village scenes. Many of his paintings have a certain anecdotal content, but cannot be characterized as social realism. Aigens painted a number of interior scenes as well, especially workshops and old farmsteads. In the Danish Art Index five of Aigner's paintings are listed as belonging to Danish art collections: the Northern Jutland Museum of Art at Ålborg, the Vejle Art Museum , Trapholt and Åbenrå but none of these works are in 2001 were apparently on exhibition.
He married twice, first in 1906 to Caroline Munck and in 1912 to Mathilde Maren Hyldgaard. Both his marriages ended in divorce.
The painting here represents a charming portrait of a boy sitting at the window and reading in his book. Presumably this is a Danish boy, although we are not sure, it could have been painted in Switzeland or the Faroe Islands.
I am not sure if the boy wears a collarless shirt or if it his underwear. He wears suspenders for his black shorts. We note other portraits of boys by windows, also with the boy wearing short pants and suspenders.
We have found some information in Danish which our Danish readers may find of interest.
Christian Aigens var døbt Larsen, men antog omkring 1903 navnet Aigens. Christain Aigens blev anbefalet til professor
Vermehren, der skaffede ham plads på Kunstakademiet, hvor han startede i den forberedne klasse i december 1888 og
forblev der indtil 1890. Aigens gik desuden en tid på Teknisk skole. Efter Kunstakademiet blev han elev på Kunstnernes Frie
Studieskole under Krøyer og Tuxen.
Aigens var også på rejser og studieophold blamd andet til Schweiz i halvandet år fra 1900. Ophold på Færøerne også i
halvandet år i 1906 - 1907, desuden tilbragte han i sine yngere år en del af sommeren i Skagen.
Christian Aigens var gift to gange, først i 1906 med Caroline Munck og i 1912 blev han juleaften gift med Mathilde Maren
Hyldgaard. Begge hans ægteskaber blev opløst.
Christian Aigens var først og fremmest portræt- og figurmaler. I sine yngre år var han en del påvirket af Krøyer og Tuxen,
ligesom han også følte sig stærk inspireret af Jul. Paulsen. Foruden en del forfatterportrætter, bl.a. adskellige mellem 1908 og 32 af vennen Chr. Engeltoft, fandt han mange af sine motiver blandt jævne folk og afbillede dem under deres arbejde.. Flere af hans figurmalerier havde et vist anekdotisk indhold uden at kunne karakteriseres som socialrealisme. Aigens malede desuden en del interiører, især fra værksteder og gamle bondestuer. I DanskKunst Index er der registeret fem malerier af Aigens på danske kunstmuseer, Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum i Ålborg, Vejle Kunstmuseum, Trapholt og i Åbenrå, men ingen af museerne har disse værker udstillet i øjeblikket.
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