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COPENHAGEN RESIDENCE
1947 - 1987
As Skov returned to
Denmark with his wife and three sons from Portugal in July 1947, he
realized he would have to settle down more permanently so his sons could
get access to regular schooling. Since he owned property in downtown Copenhagen which was rented out at the time, he decided to
stay there; and he, therefore, rented a summer cottage for a year in
Jaegersborg, a suburb of Copenhagen, and put the kids into the local school.
In Jaegersborg,
Skov for the first time began to explore directly the paradigm of Cubism
with the intent to understand its artistic goals and visual perception;
eventually to determine for himself the workings of its inner logic and
aesthetic expression. This, he felt, had to be obtained from direct
experience, with his paint brushes working on the canvas, since
intellectual understanding separated from the artist’s medium was at best
only secondary and, therefore, unable to support the artist’s creativity.
The paintings show that during this twelve months period, and building on
his experience from Madeira, Skov was able to go considerably further in his
understanding of the epistemology and enigmatic expression of Cubism, than
had any Danish artist gone previously.
In June of the
following year a large apartment finally became available for Skov in the
building Krystalgade No.6 at the corner of Peter Hvitfeldtstraede, downtown
Copenhagen. This six story apartment building, which had
belonged to his wife’s family going back to the time of its construction
more than a hundred years earlier, is located in the historic "Latin
Quarter" between the University of Copenhagen and the Round Tower of
Trinitatis Church, across from Regensen, an old three story university
student hall, all dating from the regency of King Christian IV around 1650.
Skov’s apartment
occupied the entire fifth floor and at this elevation it overlooked the
houses across the streets on both sides, facing towards the south and west;
and it therefore received unobstructed sun and daylight through its dozen
large windows. At the time there was direct connection with the sixth floor
apartment which was located under the roof and fitted with slanting
skylight windows. Integrated together, these two floors provided an unusual
amount of space and light for a downtown apartment, and it was very well
suited for a painter’s studio, with ample space also for guest rooms for
visiting friends and artists.
The view from the
sixth floor studio towards the north, was across neighboring rooftops with
chimneys, exhaust cyclones and connecting ducts
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