| Men of Industry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Peder Severin Krøyer |
| Year | 1904 |
| Medium | Oil-on-canvas |
| Dimensions | 116 cm × 185 cm (46 in × 73 in) |
| Location | Frederiksborg Museum (Hillerød) |
Men of Industry (Danish: Industriens Mænd) is a 1903–1904 oil on canvas group portrait painting byPeder Severin Krøyer (1851–1909) featuring 53 leading representatives of the technical sciences inDenmark during the second half of the 19th century, seen at a fictional gathering atØsterbro Power Station inCopenhagen. The painting was commission byGustav Adolph Hagemann and is now on display in the Museum of National History atFrederiksborg Castle,Hillerød.
The idea for the painting was already conceived by Hagemann in 1881 while he was entertaining C. F. Tietgen who was posing forPeder Severin Krøyers portrait of him. Hagemann presented the idea of four monumental group portrait paintings for the newly refurbished Great Hall inBørsen featuring leading representatives of the trade, industry agriculture and shipping sectors in Denmark.[1]
Only the first of the four paintings,From Copenhagen Stock Exchange (1895), was realized. The idea forMen of Industry was revived in 1902 but now as a private commission by Hagemann, paid for out of his own pocket, for his home inBredgade. Hagemann, who was a co-owner ofØresunds Chemiske Fabrikker, a board member and major shareholder ofBurmeister & Wain and had just been appointed as director of the College of Advanced Technology, was at the height of his career.[1]
The price agreed upon for the painting wasDKK 10,000. By February 1903, Hagemann had created a list of the people who were to feature in the painting. The choice of people was not representative but rather a reflection of Hagemann's own network. Work on the painting was interrupted when Krøyer fell ill in the summer of 1903. It was completed in December 1904. It was first shown to the public in the spring of 1905.[2]
Hagemann died in 1916. Sometime during the 1930s the painting was placed in G.A. Hagemann's Kollegium onKristianiagade in Copenhagen. In 1958, it was purchased for DKK 20,000 by the Museum of National History atFrederiksborg Castle.[1]
Krøyer created a pen study, two pastels on cartoon and a small oil on canvas study before embarking ion the final painting. The pen study was already lost before the painting had been completed. One of the pastels belong to the Danish Association of Engineers. The other one was in August 1995 sold by Bruun Rasmussen to the utility company NESA. It was after the merger with DONG Energy placed in the Energy Museum inViborg on loan. The oil study is privately owned.[3]