Laurits Tuxen

The Danish painter Laurits Tuxen played an important role in Carl Jacobsen’s efforts to acquire casts of French sculptures for Denmark. Tuxen had spent time in Paris during the 1880s and was requested by the head of the Royal Sculpture Collection, O. Rosenørn-Lehn, and Jacobsen to visit French sculptors to inquire about acquiring copies of their works. Among the artists who had thus caught Jacobsen’s attention were Barrias, Mercié, Falguière and Dubois.
Jacobsen commissioned several paintings from Tuxen, including a portrait of Ottilia Jacobsen (1882) and a painting of the Royal Family’s visit to Ny Carlsberg (1892).
In 1888, Tuxen, P.S. Krøyer and Vilhelm Klein were all part of the organizing committee for Jacobsen’s large, successful project The French Art Exhibition, which was held in a specially erected building in Copenhagen’s then City Hall Square.
The correspondence between Jacobsen and Tuxen consists of 74 preserved letters from 1879–1910. It gives a clear impression of Jacobsen’s high level of ambition and involvement, including in the effort to enrich Denmark with the finest art from abroad. Over a period of about 30 years, Tuxen and Jacobsen developed a warm and cordial relationship, which was often reflected in the personal tone of the letters.
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