Adrian Stokes

Peder Severin Krøyer's 1886 portrait of Adrian Stokes — the British painter who visited Skagen and was closely associated with the colony through his relationship with Marianne Stokes — documents the colony's international connections. Adrian Stokes had painted at Pont-Aven in Brittany before coming to Skagen, connecting the Scandinavian colony with the French Naturalist circles. His portrait by Krøyer is part of the larger gallery of Skagen visitors and participants that the Danish painter systematically documented.

Krøyer renders Adrian Stokes with the same direct warmth he brought to all his artist-colleague portraits. The British painter is captured with Krøyer's mature assurance — a confident likeness achieved through careful observation. His palette is warm and naturalistic, the modeling of Stokes's face achieved through the specific tonal observation that characterized Krøyer's portrait method. The handling is direct and economical, appropriate to a portrait of a fellow professional.