Johansen Aage Gitz Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Aage Gitz-Johansen (1897-1977), or “Qalipaasorsuaq” (literally “great painter”), as he was also called, was a Danish painter and graphic artist.
From 1916 to 1921 he studied zoology at the University of Copenhagen and subsequently attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Graphic Art, in 1928-29. In 1932 he was one of the founders of the artistic group Koloristerne (the Colorists). Read the full biography

Aage Gitz-Johansen (1897-1977), or “Qalipaasorsuaq” (literally “great painter”), as he was also called, was a Danish painter and graphic artist.
From 1916 to 1921 he studied zoology at the University of Copenhagen and subsequently attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Graphic Art, in 1928-29. In 1932 he was one of the founders of the artistic group Koloristerne (the Colorists). He first traveled to Greenland in 1933 and made several return trips until 1948. Much of his output was inspired by his travels to the north and the people they encountered there.
His paintings are unusually sensitive, attentive and involved. In both style and treatment of his subject, Gitz-Johansen broke away from the naturalistic style that characterized earlier artists working with Greenlandic scenes and subject matter. Instead, he concentrated on seeking the essence of the original Greenlandic folk culture. This is seen, for example, in “Ingnerssuit”, which depicts a Greenlandic mythological creature.