Paul Gustave Fischer

Paul Gustave Fischer was a Danish painter who belonged to the fourth generation of a Jewish family that originally came from Poland. He started painting at a young age, guided by his father, who was also a painter and a manufacturer of paints and lacquers. He received a formal art education for only two years at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, but he continued to exhibit his works regularly at Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition from 1884 to 1902. He gained fame as a painter of cities, not just Copenhagen, but also scenes from Scandinavia, Italy and Germany. He was especially known for his depictions of everyday life in the streets, squares and parks of Copenhagen, as well as his bright and sunny bathing scenes, some with nude women. He was also influenced by the poster art of Théophile Steinlen and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and he created several posters for various events and products. He was married twice, first to Dagny Grønneberg, who died in 1920, and then to Martha Vilhelmine Jensen, a concert singer. He had two daughters, Elsa and Inga, who often appeared in his paintings. He died in Gentofte in 1934, leaving behind hundreds of paintings and posters that are now highly valued by collectors and museums.