Peder Mørk Mønsted (10 December 1859 – 20 June 1941) was a Danish painter known for his realistic landscapes. He began painting from an early age and attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1875 to 1879.
His landscapes are incredibly detailed, yet do not appear to be overworked. This is not easy to achieve. Many realist paintings just appear too refined and have lost that painterly feel. In my opinion, a great painting should still look like a painting, not a photograph.
Mønsted demonstrated that you can paint realism whilst retaining a somewhat painterly quality through the use of fluid brushwork and by simplifying areas of relatively less importance. He did not illustrate every leaf on the trees or every individual strand of grass.
His use of color is also very impressive. The colors appear rich and united by the light. Also notice how Mønsted frequently used black for the shadows, rather than the dark blues, greens and purples used by the Impressionists. Black is often avoided by many landscape painters, but it can be extremely effective if used correctly.
Anyway, I will let you enjoy his paintings.
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Happy painting!
Dan Scott
Draw Paint Academy
Stunning! Thank you for showing his artwork.
My pleasure 🙂
Dan
Monsted is my favorite painter. I didn’t know he used black in his shadows. I’ve heard so many no, nos about using black and he is sure a proof to me that it’s not what you use or don’t use but it’s how you use it. All I have and know about Monsted is from internet and I wish I could have like a nice album type book with his paintings. Does anyone know of one?
Hi Jola. I personally ignore anything which says you cannot do this or that. You could create a masterpiece with crayons if you were skilled enough. Black is not a bad color, it just tends to be overused by beginners. I personally do not use it but that is just because I prefer to mix my own black using ultramarine blue plus raw umber.
Kind regards
Dan
He is my most beloved painter. I will visit Danmark until this covid thing is over. May I have some info where I can find his paintings in Danmark? I guess in some museums in Copenhagan? Thank you very much!
Chen
His his paintings take my breath away. I am moved to tears by his landscapes!
His paintings are simply incredible. The first time I saw one of his paintings, I thought it was a photo. I was stunned to see it was a painting. He should be regarded as on of the greats!