Emanuel Aage Petersen (born Aage Emanuel Petersen on February 18, 1894 in Copenhagen; died December 27, 1948 in Farum). He was a Danish painter, best known for his Greenlandic motifs.
In 1921 he was in Greenland. Enthusiastic about the island, he returned to Greenland every year from 1923 to 1926. From 1928 to 1930 he undertook an art expedition, which was financed by Grønlands Styrelse and the Danish state. The depiction of Greenland became his life’s purpose. He created between 2000 and 3000 paintings in the course of his life. His depictions of the country’s nature were initially characterized by very detailed porcelain painting, but later he began to paint in a more stylized manner.
Emanuel Aage Petersen paid particular attention to the play of colors and the depiction of weather conditions, and he always painted good weather. In addition to landscapes, he also painted villages and everyday situations of the population, although these were not always true to life and were always seen from a great distance. He created both watercolors and oil paintings.
In the early 1930s he travelled to Paris and Rome, among other places, to present his works at colonial exhibitions. His paintings were also shown in Sweden and Great Britain during this period. He returned to Greenland in 1935, as well as in 1937 and again after the end of the war in 1946. He died two years later at the age of 54.

About the author