Marie Christine Mathea Gudme Leth

Marie Christine Mathea Gudme Leth;Marie Gudme Leth

Place: Århus

Born: 1895

Death: 1997

Biography:

Marie Christine Mathea Gudme Leth was a Danish textile printer who pioneered screen printing for industrial production. Born on October 5, 1895, in Århus, Denmark, she attended the Industrial Arts and Crafts School for Women before entering the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Her journey as an artist took her to Java, where she became familiar with batik techniques, which later influenced her work.

Early Career and Education

Leth's early career was marked by experimentation with block printing, and she soon developed her own approach to coloring. She traveled to Frankfurt-am-Main in 1930 to study print coloring at the design school, where she refined her skills. Her ambition was to raise the status of textile printing to the level of other crafts.

Establishing Dansk Kattuntrykkeri

In 1935, Leth co-founded Dansk Kattuntrykkeri (Danish calico printing factory), which enabled her to apply industrial methods to textile printing. She opened her own design studio in 1940 and taught textile printing at the Arts and Crafts School from 1931 to 1948. Her pupils included notable artists such as Dorte Raachou and Rolf Middleboe.

Artistic Style and Inspiration

Leth's patterns, printed on linen or cotton, often worked with two shades of one color, particularly blues or greens. Her earlier block print creations, such as Jagten, Landsby, and Mexico, were inspired by Danish themes and her experiences abroad. She also created garden animal prints featuring frog, snail, and snake themes. When using the screen printing technique, she extended her block printing patterns to silhouette-like prints, such as Orkidé, which intermingled Danish plant designs with those from primeval forests. Geometrical Patterns In the 1950s, Leth abandoned her free style and adopted strictly geometrical patterns, while maintaining her interest in harmonious color combinations. Her designs were influenced by a trip to Ravenna, where she experienced ancient mosaics, and later by a trip to Turkey and the Middle East.

Awards and Exhibitions

Leth participated in major exhibitions of Danish design at home and abroad, including the Paris Exhibition in 1937 and the Milan Triennale in 1951. She was awarded gold medals at both events. A retrospective of her work was held in 1977 at the Danish Museum of Art & Design, where many of her works can still be seen.