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Marie Krøyer
Let's move to beautiful Skagen in Denmark.
Marie Triepcke Krøyer Alfvén, commonly known as Marie Krøyer, whose work we present today, was born Maria Martha Mathilde Triepcke in Frederiksberg, Denmark. From an early age, Marie showed a strong interest in art and was determined to train as a painter—an ambition that was difficult for women to pursue at the time. Gifted, strong-willed, and supported by her parents, she was able to study in the private studios of Carl Thomsen and Kristian Zahrtmann in Copenhagen. She received encouragement from Bertha Wegmann, a leading portrait painter for whom she modeled at the age of 16, as well as from Andreas Peter Weis of the Danish Ministry of Culture.
In Paris, Marie studied alongside Anna Ancher at the atelier of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Ancher, a fellow Dane and resident of Skagen, became a lifelong friend. Marie also attended the studios of Gustave Courtois and Alfred Philippe Roll.
Marie’s life has long fascinated the public. Together with P. S. Krøyer, the famous Danish painter she belonged to Copenhagen’s cultural elite, and contemporary newspapers and magazines frequently covered the celebrated couple. Yet Marie was far more than a beautiful and well-known artist’s wife. She stood at the forefront of the struggle for Danish women’s access to professional artistic training on equal terms with men and was driven by a deep ambition to build an independent career as an artist.
This ambition, however, was never fully realized. After marrying P. S. Krøyer in 1889, Marie gradually abandoned painting. Instead, she turned her creative energy toward interior decoration and design. Although she produced original and distinctive works in these fields, she never exhibited them publicly and did not achieve artistic recognition during her lifetime.
Following P. S. Krøyer’s death in 1909, Marie largely faded from public view. Only in recent years has she been rediscovered and acknowledged in her own right—particularly for her innovative contributions to interior decoration and design.
Learn more about the story behind the Krøyers and their radiant art!