This gentle early 20th-century oil painting by Danish artist Wenzel Torn�e (1844-1907) depicts a view with a lake and trees. Torn�e was an accomplished painter of portraits, scenes, and landscapes.Bathed in Nordic light, filtered through dense cloud, the silvery water is a patchwork of textures. Grasses hug a diagonal bank, massing into a single form before blending into a crowded wood. The reflections are simple yet deft.Born in the picturesque rural idyll of Lehnsh�j near Svendborg in Denmark, Torn�e was raised on a farm close to the coastline on the island of Funen. From here, he could explore lakes, forests, and open pasture with views extending across the archipelago. As a boy, he studied initially at Horsen''s Latin School before travelling to Copenhagen to enroll at the renowned Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.At the Academy, a firm emphasis was placed upon honing one�s proficiency with a pencil and the young aspirant would�ve spent countless hours sketching classical statues and studying the old masters. Students were instructed in the advanced techniques of figurative work. During his graduation year, 1865, he debuted at the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition, the foremost art show in Denmark, where he would continue to display works throughout his impressive career.Examples of his oils during these formative years are few and far between but include an interesting group portrait of his family.Twelve years later, inspired by a study trip to Rome, his finesse had improved noticeably. As we see here, in this refined portrait of an Italian girl.Indeed, it was Torn�e�s sojourns to Italy that appear to have furnished both his portraits and scenes with richness and spirit. He would return time and again, captivated by its unique charms, and sketch amid the abundant Mediterranean light. He married the artist, Karen Elisabeth Blumer, and perhaps the two travelled together.During the 1870s, he focused predominantly on genre painting - cap...