Johannes Larsen was a visual artist born in 1867 in Kerteminde on Funen. He was the son of Jeppe Andreas Larsen and Vilhelmine Christine Bless. His father was a merchant. Larsen studied art at the Free School in Copenhagen under Kristian Zahrtmann from 1884–1893. There he met other painters from Funen, notably Fritz Syberg and Peter Hansen, both from the southern port of Faaborg, and the Funish Painters group Fynboerne was born. They went on to create an art colony that influenced many Danish and Swedish artists and brought them success. In 1902 he learned etching from the artist Peter Tom Petersen, and in 1904 was taught woodcut by the artist F. Hendriksen.

     In 1898, he was married to the painter Alhed Maria Warberg. Between 1901–1902 the artist couple built their home on Møllebakken in Kerteminde. Their home became the gathering place in summer months for many painters, particularly younger artists from Zahrtmann's school.

     Kristian Zahrtmann exhorted all his students to paint in Italy and the Syberg and Hansen families enjoyed extended stays there, while Larsen and his wife, Alhed Warberg Larsen, built a large studio and traveled mostly in Scandinavia. Their ideal was to paint outdoors, not just sketching but painting in all kinds of weather. Their paintings have a freshness and energy not previously seen, except in sketches.

     Once they became successful, they were attacked by symbolist artists for being "farmer painters" in a newspaper debate in 1907. This only brought the Funish group more sympathy, especially from a group of authors working from the provinces in Jutland. Their chief spokesman was Johannes V. Jensen who later won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930.

     Larsen was mainly heralded as a bird painter, before this was a familiar genre in Scandinavia. He popularized images of birds, particularly through his woodcuts and smaller paintings. Later he received commissions to illustrate books and paint large paintings for public buildings, such as the Queen's receiving room at Christiansborg Castle (seat of the Danish Parliament) and the City Hall of Odense, capital city of Funen.

     In 1910, businessman Mads Rasmussen (1856-1916), who operated a successful cooperative canning factory in Faaborg, decided to start a museum for art from Funen next to his canning factory. He created the Faaborg Museum, which houses a large collection of works by Larsen along with Fritz Syberg and Peter Hansen.

     In 1986 the home of Johannes and Alhed Larsen was turned into the Johannes Larsen Museum.

     The artist is represented in these public institutions:

• The Museum of Modern Art in New York Archives

• AROS - Aarhus Art Museum

• BRANDTS - (Painting) Museum of Art & Visual Culture

• Danish Hunting and Forestry Museum

• The Hirschsprung Collection

• Esbjerg Art Museum

• Frederiksberg Museums

• Storm P. Museum

• Fuglsang Art Museum

• Faaborg Museum

• Horsens Art Museum

• ARTS Museum of Modern Art Aalborg

• Copenhagen City Museum

• KØS Museum of Art in the Public Space

• Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

• The museum at Koldinghus

• Museum Jorn

• Museum Sønderjylland (Kunstmuseet i Tønder)

• Randers Art Museum

• Ribe Art Museum

• Sorø Art Museum

• Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark)

• Vejen Art Museum

• The Guide Museums (Art)

• East Funen Museums (Johannes Larsen)

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