|
The time-consuming
and sometimes hard manual labor required to operate and maintain the farm
on the other hand combined with the relative remoteness of the site to make
it more difficult for Skov to have much contact with the “outside world”, let
alone with any part of the art world. And for much the same reasons, he was
unable to maintain his habitual prodigious artistic productivity during the
following five years. Even so, starting in 1941 he resumed to work with his
painting, continuing where he had left off in 1939 while also referencing
back to his more rigorously two-dimensional expression from the La Colle
period.
During these years
he frequently painted-over his paintings due in part at least to the
scarcity of canvas and frames; however, approximately 60 paintings still
remain from the five year period from 1941 to 1945. Due to a scarcity of
art supplies including pigments, oils, resins and solvents, Skov was
limited to use just a few metal oxide pigments and water based casein as the
resin binder. This undoubtedly was a contributing reason for the muted
colors and somewhat limited variation of his palette during this period,
and it may also account for the sense of spectral homogeneity among many of
these paintings. His use of the casein-resin binder certainly also explains
the comparative absence of texture and luster in his paintings from these
years.
Skov’s third son
was born in mid 1943, and it is therefore not surprising that many of his
paintings from the following years show this child in numerous different configurations with
his mother and brothers. In December of 1943, Skov made a linoleum-cut
depicting the theme of “Mother and Child”, meant as both an allegorical
Christmas greeting and the announcement to the family and friends of the
birth of his last son. The standing mother figure resembling a slim statue
is holding the newborn, naked infant which is seen in clear profile and
highlighted in white.
Skov used two
depths in the carving to obtain an intermediary shading between the full
white and deep blue, and a surprising effect of the print is the impression
of backlighting which is accentuated by the aureoles around the heads and
“exploding” fringe-framing. The placement of the lodestar at the low
horizon is effective in providing balance to the composition which in its
simplicity is completely in harmony with the hopeful, life-confirming
visual message. This elegant small [9 x 13 cm] linoleum carving was printed
as a Christmas card that year and represents one of the rare instances of
Skov’s work in this medium.
Skov’s reaction to
the war at the personal level, as it is seen reflected in his paintings,
was one of total rejection of its violence, inhumanity and brutality. He
accepted its reality, of course, and had taken the most realistic steps he
could to mitigate its effects on his family. But rather than letting it
also invade and transform his soul with fear or rage, he turned his
attention instead to the love of his family, peace and beauty as his
healing remedies. In the choice of motifs, predominantly of feminine forms
and peaceful gardens, his paintings from this period therefore reflect his
affirmation of life and family. The strongest emphasis
|