Oil painting created by Knut Strann

Artist Knut Strann (1906-1978) was born in Sweden and moved to Denmark at the age of thirteen with his parents. After seven years of schooling, he became a self-taught painter producing a vast body of work in oil and exhibiting throughout Denmark. The artist took the stage name Knut Strann to distinguish him from another painter with the name Knud Strand.

The delicate, airy application of paint is a typical example of how Strann worked on canvas. He depicted a range of subject matter throughout his artistic career, from landscapes and still life scenes, to portraits and studies of the human form.

In this tranquil scene, the artist’s appreciation for the relationship between light and colour is clear. In the upper areas of the canvas, pale, delicate blue marks create a sense of bright light, while below the horizon, dappled, transparent marks with hints of yellow and green create a feeling of movement and light reflecting on surfaces.