Helge Ernst

HELGE ERNST (Copenhagen, Denmark, 1916 - 1991).
"Line-up", 1980.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner. Signed, dated and titled on the back.
Measurements: 60 x 81 cm; 66 x 86 cm (frame).

Although his style evolved and also delved into abstraction, especially from the 1950s onwards, Helge Ernst's compositions often reflect his exploration of the possibilities of cubism to connect naturalistic and abstract objects. On this occasion he offers us a still life in which the use of several perspectives to represent the same object, the delineation of the figures, the flat background that overcomes the beginning and the use of vibrant tones bring us closer to a taste for the most synthetic cubism.

A versatile artist (he worked in painting, engraving, design and even film), Helge Ernst exhibited his work for the first time in 1938 at the Autumn Art Exhibition in Copenhagen. In 1939 he studied briefly with the French sculptor, painter, teacher and writer André Lhote (1885-1962) in Paris and subsequently traveled the world in search of new inspirations and concerns. At first his style was influenced by that of the Danish figurative artists (Niels Lergaard or Erik Hoppe, among others), and later became more abstract. In 1955, Ernst was the first abstract painter to become a member of the traditional Koloristerne group, and in 1965 he was a member of the Grønningen group of artists. Between 1975 and 1988, Ernst was curator of the Bornholm Art Museum. He also made short films, including 'Picassos Guernica' (1962), 'Oluf Høst' (1964) and (in 1972) a series of films on modern painting. Throughout his prolific career as an artist, Helge Ernst has participated in numerous art exhibitions throughout Europe. Particularly noteworthy are those held at the Arnbaks Kunsthandel (1944), at the Fyns Stiftsmuseum or "Danish modern painting", together with Otto H Svensson, Arne L. Hansen (1921-2009), Niels Østergaard and Helge Holmskov, or at the Stedelijke Museum in Amsterdam, among many others. In 1966 a retrospective exhibition was held at the Gammel Strand art gallery in Copenhagen and in 1971 Ernst received the National Prize at the (3rd) Festival International de Peinture (International Painting Festival) held in Haut-de-Cagnes, France.