Literature: J.F. Willumsen: “Mine erindringer fortalt til Ernst Mentze”, CPH, 1953, p. 89–93. Exhibited: Den Frie Udstilling, CPH, 1892, cat. no. 117. Exhibited: Willumsen Udstillingen, Den Frie Udstilling, CPH, 1923, cat. no. 55. Provenance: Bank Manager Georg Jacobsen, BR auction 126, Feb.1961, no. 109. Provenance: Danish private collection. In the summer of 1891, J. F. Willumsen studied the map of France to find “(...) a suitable place to work. It should be a lonely place where I could paint in peace and develop my new style” - as he later explained the art historian Ernst Mentze. Previous to this, Willumsen had been the object of public scandal owing to this very “new style” and, not least, his allegorical etching “Fertility”, depicting his pregnant wife Juliette. The etching, shown at the first exhibition at “Den Frie Udstilling” in 1891, bears the inscription: “The old art has its own language which one gradually learns to understand. A new art has a new language which one must learn before one understands it”. The text is a manifesto, and a defence of a radically new imagery. In the summer of 1891, Willumsen continued along his new path - consistently and undauntedly but not unaffected by the harsh treatment at home, following the new path which made him one of the absolute pioneers in Danish modernism. “En bjerggryde” with luxuriant chestnut trees, tall mountains and a dramatic perspective, is painted in the little town Meillerie, situated by the Lake of Geneva where Willumsen stayed for 6 weeks with his family. Willumsen's stay in Meillerie is the background for several of the artist's principal works of early date, including the relief “Stenbrydere i en frodig bjergegn” (Statens Museum for Kunst“), ”Fjerne bjerge set over en sø. Genfersøen“ and the painting ”Ægte Kastanjer“ (both placed at the Willumsen Museum, Denmark). ”En bjerggryde" is a counterpart to the latter. It is a rarity with Willumsen's limited production in the 90s of only 20 oil paintings.