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Otto Bache19th Century Neoclassical Scene - Psyche, Oil on Canvas1864
1864
$16,047.01
£12,032.49
€13,500
CA$22,391.46
A$24,243.43
CHF 12,889.12
MX$292,392.50
NOK 162,087.90
SEK 151,112.09
DKK 102,844.44
About the Item
In this neoclassical oil on canvas signed and dated “Otto Bache 1864”, the artist depicts Psyche standing with her back turned to the viewer beside a red draped table. Her hair is arranged in a tight knot, secured with a hairpin adorned with two large pearls. She holds a light drapery that covers her legs, while the rest of her body remains nude. With her head turned toward the right, she gazes downward toward the table, where a blue gown or drapery lies, the garment she is about to put on.
Her softly illuminated profile emerges as she turns in the light falling from the upper left, creating a striking backlight that heightens the contrast along the contours of her body. On the richly red draped table before her rest her jewellery and, to her left, a large amphora-shaped jug and a tazza bowl. The light descending from above to the left defines the composition with sharp contrasts between brightness and shadow, revealing the delicate modelling of Psyche’s form and lending the scene a quiet sense of introspection and grace.
Exhibited: Winkel
Magnussen October 1915 no. 5, ill. p. 5.
Otto Bache was born in 1839 in Roskilde, Denmark, and died in 1927 in Copenhagen.
At the age of only eleven he was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen where he studied drawing and painting under the supervision of artists such as Wilhelm Marstrand. His early training gave him a basis in the Danish “Golden Age” tradition of realism and naturalism, but he went on to travel and extend his horizons. In 1866 he received an Academy travel-scholarship and went to Paris, then Italy (1867–68).
The influence of Paris is often noted: his palette became richer, his handling freer, his light stronger, and his subjects broader. Later in his career, from around 1887, he held the post as professor and on various occasions director of the Royal Danish Academy.
Bache’s early work reflects his rigorous academic training: careful drawing, subdued palette and interest in genre scenes and rural life. After his travel in Paris and Italy he adopted a somewhat more robust handling of color and light, but still remained essentially realist and narrative in approach.
He painted portraits, animal and hunting subjects, genre scenes, and large history-paintings depicting key moments from Danish history.
In particular, during the 1880s and 1890s when he was commissioned to execute large history canvases for the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle and similar institutions, depicting events such as the exploits of Danish soldiers or royal processions.
Bache’s works were shown on many occasions. He exhibited extensively at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibitions in Copenhagen from the 1850s onward (from 1856 to 1923 by one account).
Internationally, he exhibited in Munich. He won various honours.
Bache’s works are represented in major Danish institutions. For example the Statens Museum for Kunst (Denmarks National Museum of Art) and Nivaagaard museum holds several of his works.
The painting of Psyche (1864) is a somewhat atypical subject for Bache, rather than his usual rural genre scene or historical tableau, here he opts for a mythological and classical subject, executed in a calm neoclassical mode: the standing nude female figure, the amphora and bowl, the drapery, the clear lighting from above left creating strong contrast. The date 1864 places the work just after his first travels and just as his career was maturing, perhaps this reflects his engagement with classical motifs or academic exercises. The depiction emphasises poised stillness, formal composition, and an allegorical sense. One might consider how this connects to his broader realism: even when engaging a mythic subject, his approach remains restrained, clear and intelligible, perhaps less dramatic than his large history pictures, but offering a window into his versatility.
The figure of Psyche, from classical mythology, has held great fascination for artists. In Greek, her name means “soul” or “breath of life”.
According to the story preserved in The Golden Ass by Apuleius (2nd century AD), Psyche was a mortal woman whose beauty so rivalled that of the goddess Aphrodite (Venus) that the goddess became jealous. Aphrodite commanded her son Eros (Cupid) to make Psyche fall in love with a monster, but instead Eros himself fell in love with her. Throughout the story she must undertake a series of nearly impossible tasks (sorting seeds, retrieving beauty from the Underworld, etc) to win back his trust and be united with him, eventually she is granted immortality and becomes the goddess of the soul.
In art, Psyche is often depicted as a delicate, beautiful young woman — sometimes with butterfly wings (an attribute linking her to the soul) and in scenes pairing her with Cupid or alone in a moment of waiting or suffering. The subject was especially popular in Neoclassical and Romantic art of the 19th century, as symbol of love, soul, transformation, trial and redemption.
In the present painting by Otto Bache, the choice of subject suggests an interest in classical form and mythic subject matter, and the quiet, posed, illuminated figure of Psyche fits well into a neoclassical idiom: poised, contemplative, and evocative of the soul’s journey.
Thus, by depicting Psyche at the moment before she clothes herself, with her jewelry laid aside, the artist invites reflection on the liminal moment, between naked vulnerability and outward appearance, between soul and body. In the broader mythic context, Psyche stands for transformation, perseverance, and the union of human and divine love.
- Creator:Otto Bache (1839 - 1927, Danish)
- Creation Year:1864
- Dimensions:Height: 59.85 in (152 cm)Width: 30.71 in (78 cm)Depth: 1.58 in (4 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:It is in good condition and has recently been cleaned by a professional restorer. The frame is later.
- Gallery Location:Stockholm, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2608217160782
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