Lot 308: Sophus Jacobsen (Norwegian, 1833-1912)

Sophus Jacobsen (Norwegian, 1833-1912)
Fishing in a moonlit bay
signed 'S. Jacobsen' (lower left)
oil on canvas
30¼ x 50 in. (77 x 127 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 23 May 1989, lot 263, when acquired by the present owner ($16,500).

PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.
Sophus Jacobsen is best known for his haunting marine paintings and snowscapes, which respectively incorporate aspects of Nordic and Dutch Romanticism. The moonlit subject and obvious symbolism of the motifs in this painting (the boat sailing off over the horizon, the single figure in the foreground) bear obvious homage to the seascapes of Johan Christian Dahl and Caspar David Friedrich.