Harald Giersing (Danish, 1881–1927). Football, 1917. Photo Credit: Gianni Dagli Orti / The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY.

Credited with being a major player in the classic modernism movement in Denmark, Giersing is known for his paintings of soccer and ballet. Often using a palette knife rather than a brush, he is characterized as having an “aggressive and dynamic cubist interpretation” of action, and photographs were his reference. Giersing focuses on movement and impact; the faces of his subjects are blank or obscured by masks.