Denmark Art Artist History - Oluf Høst Museum - Catalogue & Biography Bornholm
Description
This book is an in-depth exploration of the life, work, and legacy of the Danish painter Oluf Høst, centered around the Oluf Høst Museet on the island of Bornholm. The text brings together the voices of several authors, each providing insights into different facets of Høst’s artistic journey and significance. Through essays, biography, catalog, and personal reflections, the book becomes both an art historical account and a tribute to the close-knit community and dramatic landscapes that shaped Høst’s unique vision.
Jens Erik Sørensen writes about the journey “Fra Orion til Norresån,” offering reflections on the significance of place in Høst’s life, moving from the broader world to the personal and local, with Bornholm as a continual source of inspiration. Knud W. Jensen provides details about the founding and purpose of the Oluf Høst Museet, explaining key decisions and important events that established this institution as a guardian of Høst’s legacy. Rasmus Nielsen’s essay, “For saj sæl,” addresses artistic themes and the emotional resonance of Høst’s painting style, which blends natural motifs, everyday scenes, and a distinctively Nordic sense of mood and atmosphere.
The book includes contributions from Trygve Høst, who gives a family perspective on Oluf Høst, recounting key people, places, and formative experiences in the artist’s development. Hansaage Bøggild offers two essays: one on Høst’s period at Norresån, which was pivotal for his artistic evolution, and another discussing the community of local writers and thinkers who surrounded Høst and contributed to the island’s creative culture. The “Logbogen” section provides selections from Høst’s own journal, giving firsthand insight into his methods, observations, and daily artistic process. The volume also presents a comprehensive biography, tracing Høst’s life events, critical periods, and the wider Danish art movements that interacted with his career. The final catalog section lists artworks, placing Høst’s paintings in the context of both Bornholm and Danish landscape tradition.
Throughout the book, keywords such as Bornholm, landscape, Nordic light, expressionism, diary, Norresån, artistic process, and local community reappear, emphasizing the central connections between artist, place, and creative expression. Important historical events such as the establishment of the museum, the evolution of Danish art in the 20th century, and the impact of local cultural figures are also highlighted. This book serves as an essential resource for understanding Oluf Høst’s artistic style, his role in Scandinavian art, and the ongoing importance of the places and people that defined his world.
Book Details:
Biographical information and photos, examples of his work. Many photographs and illustrations. In Danish. Hardcover, 9"x9", with no dust jacket as issued, 118 pages, 1998. Tight and square binding. Clean pages with no readily visible underlining or writing.
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Oluf Høst was a distinguished Danish painter who became one of the most significant figures associated with the Bornholm school of painters. Born in 1884 and spending most of his artistic life on the island of Bornholm, Høst drew deep inspiration from the island's dramatic landscapes, shifting Nordic light, and daily rural life. His connection to Bornholm was emotional and spiritual, and the island’s unique terrain became the primary motif of his art, most notably the village of Gudhjem and its surroundings, which recur in many of his most famous works.
Høst’s artistic style is best described as a fusion between Nordic naturalism and modern expressionism. He blended natural landscapes with emotional depth, using bold brushstrokes and layers of color to evoke changing weather, seasons, and moods. Throughout his career, he was influenced by both the French Impressionists and the German Expressionists, bringing a sense of psychological intensity to the tranquil scenes of Danish countryside. This ability to merge subtle observation of nature with inner feeling set Høst apart from his contemporaries.
Some of Oluf Høst’s most renowned works include the many studies and paintings of his own house and garden, the recurring depiction of the “Bognemark” farmhouse under various lights and conditions, and the emotional series known as “The Smokehouse,” which captures both the place’s physical presence and the artist’s personal history and loss. His paintings focused on simple, everyday motifs but charged them with a profound introspection, making his art accessible yet deeply personal.
Høst was also known for maintaining a detailed journal, documenting his daily life, thoughts, and artistic process. His logbooks offer invaluable insight into his method and philosophy, revealing a man dedicated to observing nature closely and translating its effects into paint. He reflected often on the play of light over Bornholm’s fields and seas, writing about how dawn, dusk, storms, and sunlight each transformed the landscape and his emotional response to it.
Beyond his art, Oluf Høst contributed significantly to Danish culture as an innovator and mentor. He resisted many of the mainstream art trends of his time, choosing instead a solitary and highly individual path. Today, his legacy is preserved at the Oluf Høst Museet in Gudhjem, where visitors can experience his studio, home, and many of his key works in the very environment that inspired them. Høst remains an iconic figure, not only for his deeply atmospheric landscapes but also for his lasting impact on Danish art and his unwavering commitment to authentic, place-based expression.