ARTIST: Oluf Simony Jensen (1864-1923) is a well-listed Danish artist, whose works have been sold at auction several times. He graduated from the art academy in Copenhagen, where he earned a prize for his hard work. He truly masters many different scenes, but mostly his paintings depict people interacting.

 

PAINTING: Oil on canvas. The painting is a detailed and rather humorous depiction of two monks enjoying a bottle of wine in the abbey and engaging in, what appears to be, a rather joyous conversation. In medieval times, monks all over Europe were renowned for their brewing capabilities. In Scandinavia and Northern Europe the monks solely brewed beer, but further south, wine and champagne were also very commonly made and accounted for a significant income for the monasteries. It was widely accepted by the church that the monks tasted their own goods, but of course they were incited to a certain degree of modesty. Naturally not all were equally good at that, which has led to some delightful stories about half drunk monks – most famously maybe Friar Tuck from the stories of Robin Hood. The depiction of monks is a reoccurring theme in the artist’s works. Signed: “Simony Jensen” in the lower left corner.

 

SIZE: With frame: 60 cm/23.6" * 52 cm/20.5". Without frame: 44 cm/17.3" * 36 cm/14.2".

 

CONDITION: The painting is in great ready-to-hang condition - no holes, tears or missing paint. The frame has minor scratches.