Niels Strobech

Niels Strobek studied under Egill Jacobsen at the Royal Danish Academy of Art, Copenhagen, 1962-67.  At first glance, Strobek seems to be one of the most realistic painters on the contemporary Danish scene, but visible reality is only interesting to Strobek insofar as it opens up to a deeper level of reality.  By reaching out for the not immediately comprehensible layers of existence, Strobek strives towards putting order into life's chaotic appearance.  This classical attitude enables us to see Strobek's work in a dual perspective: his art is a representation of both topical, present-day life and of timeless, universal existence.

Steeped in the tradition of the Italian Renaissance, Spanish Baroque, Danish Classicism and not least, Modern Art, Strobek has painted still life, landscapes and the human figure.  His still-life pieces show an absorption in the abstract play of forms and a sensual, rhythmic use of primary colors such as Yellow Box in the collection of the Randers Museum of Art.

In landscapes like Amager Common in the Storstroms Museum of Art, and Oak Trees in the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen), Strobek highlights aspects of the world which contest the validity of our normal perceptions.

The human figure has been treated by Strobek in the form of portraits and allegorical model studies.  Commissioned portraits include among others, Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Prince Henrik of Denmark, both in Amalienborg, along with Kristof Glamann (Museum of Frederiksborg).  In other portraits and model studies, Strobek explores femininity of the enigmatic nature of women, as in the paintngs "By the Sea" (NY Carlsberg Glyptotek), "Double Portrait" (Aarhus Museum of Art) and in a series of pictures which are conceived as a modern version of the theme, "the five foolish and the five wise virgins."

In two monumental pieces executed for the Law Courts of the City Court of Copenhagen, Strobek succeeds in fusing various kinds of genres and subject matter into an allegory of the modern constitutional state.