Emil Carlsen Home

Soren Emil Carlsen possessed a unique artistic voice. Carlsen's works - the result of an unerring eye, a steady hand and a sophisticated artistic personality - were usually quiet and contemplative, characteristic of the painter's own thoughtful personality. The Danish-born artist's ocean paintings, which were purchased by a number of America's leading museums, have a meditative quality, and these marine works are some of the most poetic views of the sea ever created.

Carlsen was a brilliant still life painter who looked to the 18th century master Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) for inspiration. Like Chardin, Carlsen was not a flamboyant still life painter. He chose simple objects - ceramic jugs, copper pans, the catch of the day or vegetables - for his still lifes, each of which had a quiet grace. Whether it was the moon rising over the artist colony of Skaggen or a simple, elegant still life of white asparagus, everything Carlsen painted was enveloped in atmosphere and mood. A gifted teacher, the small, thin man taught art for more that fifty years and his works still inspire painters today.

Through words and images, this educational site is dedicated to furthering knowledge and awareness of this turn-of-the-century artist's lasting contributions to American Art.



Soren Emil Carlsen possessed a unique artistic voice. Carlsen's works - the result of an unerring eye, a steady hand and a sophisticated artistic personality - were usually quiet and contemplative, characteristic of the painter's own thoughtful personality. The Danish-born artist's ocean paintings, which were purchased by a number of America's leading museums, have a meditative quality, and these marine works are some of the most poetic views of the sea ever created. Carlsen was a brilliant still life painter who looked to the 18th century master Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin (1699-1779) for inspiration. Like Chardin, Carlsen was not a flamboyant still life painter. He chose simple objects - ceramic jugs, copper pans, the catch of the day or vegetables - for his still lifes, each of which had a quiet grace. Whether it was the moon rising over the artist colony of Skaggen or a simple, elegant still life of white asparagus, everything Carlsen painted was enveloped in atmosphere and mood. A gifted teacher, the small, thin man taught art for more that fifty years and his works still inspire painters today. Through words and images, this educational site is dedicated to furthering knowledge and awareness of this turn-of-the-century artist's lasting contributions to American Art.













			Soren-Emil Carlsen, N.A. "Moonlight" 40" x 45" Oil on Canvas 1918


		- Jeffrey Morseburg

	all text copyright Jeffrey Morseburg 2004