History: The Art of Norway - The Emergence of The Modern

The art of Norway was slow to emerge from the foreign domination of Denmark & only began to take of in the early 19th century. Artists such as J C Dahl had to find a way of painting the dauntingly harsh landscape of his homeland whilst educating Norwegians that their own land was worthy of depiction.Based in Dresden he painted his evocations of Norwegian grandeur based on study tours back home .The next generation was able to paint for the emerging buying-public at home ,depictions of Fjord ,mountain ,forest & river based on the principle of outdoor painting encouraged by Hans Gude.By the 1880s French outdoor painting ,more the authenticity of Bastien Lepage rather than Impressionism ,was inspiring young Norwegians to paint what they knew personally.Following the pan-European practice of working in one spot as an artists colony, Fleskum ,outside Oslo was a base provided by Christian Skredsvig ,where enchanting midsummer idylls yet realistically painted found ready buyers.Working outdoors in all weathers to grasp greater authenticity found Frits Thaulow up to his ankles in the snow! Eilif Peterssen introduced local country folk into his evocations of the hidden valleys of inner Norway.Kitty Kielland & Harriet Backer reveal that modern ideas of equality are beginning to be felt by independant women who managed to find the training necessary to compete with the men. Christian Krohg was the exception from those artists around him - he painted the city & he painted poverty, hunger