La Cour, Janus Andreas Bartholin

He began drawing landscapes when he was only a child. At 16 he became a student at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen. He was Janus Andreas Bartholin La Cour, a Danish landscape painter. The son of Farmer Otto August la Cour and Ane Cathrine was born in 1837 in Timgaard.

His mentors included P.C. Skovgaard and W. Marstrand and his works were influenced by the French artists Claude Lorrain and C. Corots. La Cour participated in his first exhibition in the Spring Exhibition of 1855 with Beach Party at Helgenæs. His work Early Summer Morning won the Neuhasenske cash prize in 1861. He traveled to Paris, Italy and Switzerland for inspiration and won several other prizes and medals for his work.

His paintings often include gray or brown casts, cloudy air, fog or rain which often created a melancholy mood but glowing sky. They are serene and have a quiet beauty. His paintings are often of the Danish forests, rolling hills, streams and the coastline that are pure in form without people to disturb the quiet, desolate landscape he creates.

Unlike many artists of his time, La Cour was able to see his work honored. His Spring Morning in Rome's Campaign was purchased for the Royal Painting Collection in 1871. The Museum in Aarhus purchased another work in 1878. In 1872, he became a member for the Academy. In 1888, he received the title of professor and in 1892 was honored with a Knighthood of the Dannebrog.

Janus Andreas Bartholin La Cour never married. He died in 1909 in Odderslev.