Looking back on his work towards the end of his life, Peder Severin Krøyer recalled his work at Skagen, the Danish artists' colony at the northernmost tip of Denmark, and expressed his particular love for that time "when the sun is going down, when the moon is rising over the sea, hanging there, crystalclear, and the water, smooth as glass, reflects its light...." Krøyer was referring to the 'blue hour' of northern Scandinavian summer nights, when sea and sky appear to merge into a single luminous whole.

This lecture explores Krøyer's life and work in Skagen, and evaluates the paintings that made him into one of Europe's most celebrated artists by the end of the 19th century.