Oscar Björck

Probably drawn during one of Björck´s stays in Denmark during the 1880s´. Encouraged by P. S. Krøyer whom he had met in Paris, Björck visited Skagen and the Scandinavian colony of painters during three consequetive summers between 1882 and 1884. Björck was the longest staying Swedish artist in Skagen and he became close friends with several of the Scandinavian artists active there; Anna and Michael Ancher, Eilif Petersen, Christian Krogh, Holger Drachman, to mention a few. He developed a particularly close relationship to Krøyer. During the summer of 1884 they lived together in the Old Garden House where Michael and Anna Ancher previously had lived. Since Michael Ancher had kept the old studio, Krøyer and Björck converted an old grain-drying warehouse in Brøndum´s old garden into a studio which they shared. Their close relationship is also witnessed by the many portraits end genre-portraits they painted of each other. Björck´s most famous picture from Skagen is Launching the boat (160 x 194.5 cm.) painted at Skagen during the summer 1884 (Skagens Museum). In 1884, Krøyer started work on his famous painting Hip, Hip, Hurray! (Gothenbourg Art Museum), which depicts various members of what Krøyer referred to as the "guild" of Skagen Painters at a social gathering in Anna and Michal Anchers´s garden in Skagen. Krøyer did not complete the picture until 1888, partly because he wanted an up-to-date portrait of Björck to be included in the painting. In 1888, on Krøyer´s request, Björck revisited Skagen to model for him.