(b Stavanger, 23 July 1851; d Skagen, 21 Nov. 1909). The most famous Danish painter of his period. After studying at the Copenhagen Academy he travelled extensively in Europe 1875–81. During this period he spent two years in Paris, 1877–9, and he was influenced by French plein-air painting, showing a particular interest in capturing complex effects of light—the fusion of daylight and lamplight, for example. From 1882 he spent much of his time at the village of Skagen on the Jutland coast, where he was a prominent figure in a colony of artists; his work is well represented in the museum there. The pictures he painted at Skagen include poetic views of figures on the beach in the blue light of summer evenings. He was also a successful portraitist.