Hypnotic, isn't it?

Danish couple P.S and Marie Krøyer, famous painters and husband and wife that lived in the beautiful area of Skagen in Denmark in the late eighteen hundreds. 

I stumbled across this picture last week, during one of those mornings where I was at work but somehow could not get my head around answering emails and writing contracts or film scripts. So I went down to the little coffee shop, one of those you find on Copenhagen street corners that are perfectly furnished with nordic design, where the hipsters come and get their coffee to go and suits perfectly for introverts that need peace and quiet and perhaps a little cup of warm happiness. I ordered a capuccino (I rarely drink coffee, so I love the caffeine kick that makes life seem so dreamy and ecstatic) and read a random Danish newspaper article. Something that had nothing to do with work, nothing to do with the financial crisis or voes in faraway countries. I needed something to lift the spirit. And so I found an article about "Marie Krøyer", a new film coming out by acclaimed film director Bille August.

Marie Krøyer was married to the great, Danish painter P.S. Krøyer. According to the film's description, Marie was torn between her roles as a mother, wife and artist, as she was not able to express herself through her art, instead becoming the muse for her husband's best work. He loved painting her taking a stroll on the beach, reading in their garden and even painted her with her lover, who he had invited to stay with the couple in Skagen. P.S. was suffering from mental illness and ultimately became blind before dying at 58. At the peak of their marriage, marked by their high living standards and bourgoisie, and when P.S mental illlness got worse, Marie fell in love with a swedish composer. 

The paintings left from their time together, seemingly portraying a peaceful and happy family life in high society, makes the whole thing eery as we now know it was anything but. It actually turned out to be quite painful and destructive behind the beautiful scenery. A good reminder that all is not what it always seems. I have since become totally taken by Krøyers paintings (he) but would love to see some work by the other Krøyer (she). 

What a contemporary dilemma still, this being torn between roles and expectations. 
And now I want to visit Skagen!