Erik Werenskiold
Encyclopedia
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
. He is especially known for his drawings for the
Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
and Moe collection of Norske Folkeeventyr
Norske Folkeeventyr
Norwegian Folktales is a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. It is also known as Asbjørnsen and Moe, after the collectors.-Asbjørnsen and Moe:...
, and his illustration
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
s for the Norwegian edition of the Snorri Sturlason Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
.
Background
Erik Theodor Werenskiold was born in EidskogEidskog
Eidskog is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skotterud. Eidskog was separated from the municipality of Vinger in 1864....
, at Granli gaard, southeast of Kongsvinger
Kongsvinger
is a town and is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger....
in Hedmark
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
county, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. He lived his first four years here with his family, until they moved to Kongsvinger. Werenskiold grew up in Kongsvinger Fortress
Kongsvinger Fortress
Kongsvinger Fortress is located in the city and municipality of Kongsvinger in the county of Hedmark, Norway. It is situated on a hill west and north of the Glomma river, standing astride the ancient Vinger Royal Road, which connected Norway and Värmland, Sweden as well as on the north-south...
as the fourth son of the commander. He attended the Kongsvinger national school and then in the three years 1869-72 was at the privately owned Latin school operated by Harald Aars and Peter Voss (Aars og Voss' skole) in Christiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.
Based on advice from the painter Adolph Tidemand
Adolph Tidemand
Adolph Tidemand was a noted Norwegian romantic nationalism painter. Among his best known paintings are Haugianerne and Brudeferd i Hardanger with Hans Gude.-Biography:Adolph Tidemand was born in Mandal, Norway as the son of customs inspector and Storting representative...
, he attended a college for painters. During 1873, he was a pupil of Norwegian sculptor, Julius Middelthun (1820–1886), at the Drawing School in Christiania (Tegneskolen i Kristiania). He studied for a short time at the studio of artist, Axel Ender in the autumn of 1875.
Career
He went to MünichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
where he stayed for four years. His meeting with the French air painting, particularly Charles François Daubigny, at a French art show in Munich in 1879, convinced Werenskiold of its superiority over the German studio painting. In the spring of 1880, Werenskiold was paralyzed in the right arm. After half a year of hospitalization and recreation in Switzerland at Oberbayern and Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
, he finally regained his health. From 1881-83 he lived in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1883, Werenskiold returned to Norway where he spent the summers in Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
. He returned to France in 1884–1885 and studied with Léon Bonnat
Léon Bonnat
Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat was a French painter.He was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in Madrid, where his father owned a bookshop. While tending his father's shop, he copied engravings of works by the Old Masters, developing a passion for drawing...
(1888–89).
In the spring of 1895 he made a study trip to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
He made several paintings of peasants in landscapes. Illustrations for Norwegian fairy tales had interested him since his time in Munich, and he now got the opportunity to illustrate Norwegian fairy tales together with Theodor Kittelsen
Theodor Kittelsen
Theodor Severin Kittelsen was a Norwegian artist. He is one of the most popular artists in Norway. Kittelsen became famous for his nature paintings, as well as for his illustrations of fairy tales and legends, especially of trolls.-Biography:Kittelsen was born in the coastal town of Kragerø in...
. He illustrated Norwegian folktales (Norske Folkeeventyr) in 1879 and continued with Adventure Tales for Children (Eventyrbog for Børn. Norske Folkeeventyr) by Asbjørnsen and Moe in three volumes during the period 1882–1887. Werenskiold illustrated a new edition of King's Sagas (kongesagae) from Snorre Sturlason and The Family at Gilje (Familjen paa Gilje) (1903) by Jonas Lie
Jonas Lie
Jonas Lauritz Idemil Lie was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright who is considered to have been one of the Four Greats of 19th century Norwegian literature, together with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Alexander Kielland.-Background:Jonas Lie was born at Hokksund in Øvre Eiker, in...
.
His wide range of characterized portraits make up an entire pantheon of famous Norwegians from his lifetime. Werenskiold received the Norwegian national artist's salary from 1908. He was appointed Knight of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1890, Commander 1905, Commander of the 1st class of 1930 and the Grand Cross 1935. He was also Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
. He died at Bærum
Bærum
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....
, in Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
county, Norway. He was buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund
Vår Frelsers gravlund
Vår Frelsers gravlund is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It was created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. Its grounds were extended in 1911. The cemetery has been full since 1952...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.
Personal life
He was married to the painter Sophie Marie Stoltenberg Thomesen (1849–1926). He was the brother-in-law of brother of journalist, Fernanda NissenFernanda Nissen
Petra Gregorine Fernanda Nissen was a Norwegian journalist, literary critic, theatre critic, politician and feminist pioneer.-Early and personal life:...
and the son–in-law of Norwegian merchant and politician, Thomes Thomesen
Thomes Thomesen
Thomes Thomesen was a Norwegian merchant and politician.He was a merchant, ship-owner and shipbuilder in the town of Kragerø. He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from the city in 1862,and served one term....
. He was the father of geologist, Werner Werenskiold
Werner Werenskiold
Werner Werenskiold was a Norwegian geologist and geographer.He was the son of Erik Werenskiold, and the brother of Dagfin Werenskiold. Werenskiold made field studies in Telemark and Gudbrandsdalen in his younger days, and later focused on studies at Svalbard and of glaciers in Jotunheimen...
(1883–1961) and sculptor, Dagfin Werenskiold
Dagfin Werenskiold
Dagfin Werenskiold was a Norwegian sculptor and painter.Dagfin Werenskiold was born in Bærum in Akershus Colunty, Norway. He was the son of Norwegian painter and illustrator, Erik Werenskiold. He was the brother of Norwegian geologist Werner Werenskiold. He first learned drawing from his father...
(1892–1977).
Visual art
- Bærrensere (1878)
- Et møte (1880)
- Gjetere (1882)
- En bondebegravelse (1883–85)
- Olivia (1891)
- Solstreif (1891)
- Lekende barn (1892)
- Sommeraften i Kviteseid (1893)
- Skysshesten (1894)
- Aftenlandskap fra Kviteseid (1895)
- Hungersnøden (1923 and 1928–29)
- Middagsselskapet (1928–30)
- En streikebryter ca. (1930)
Portraits
- Gunnar HeibergGunnar HeibergGunnar Edvard Rode Heiberg was a Norwegian poet, playwright, journalist and theatre critic.-Personal life:...
(1878) - Amund HellandAmund HellandAmund Helland was a Norwegian geologist, politician and non-fiction writer. He is particularly known for his works on glacial erosion and the role of glaciers in the formation of valleys, fjords and lakes...
(1885) - Kitty Kielland (1891)
- Edvard GriegEdvard GriegEdvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
(1892 and 1902) - Erika NissenErika NissenErika Nissen, née Lie was a Norwegian pianist.She was born in Kongsvinger as the daughter of jurist Michael Strøm Lie and his wife Ingeborg Birgitte Røring Møinichen. She was the sister of Thomasine Lie, who married Jonas Lie...
(1892) - Fridtjof NansenFridtjof NansenFridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
(1893) - Frederik CollettFrederik CollettFrederik Jonas Lucian Bothfield Collett was a Norwegian painter, perhaps most associated with his winter pictures from the region around Lillehammer, Norway.-Background:...
(1894) - Bjørnstjerne BjørnsonBjørnstjerne BjørnsonBjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...
(1895) - Henrik IbsenHenrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
(1895) - Eva NansenEva NansenEva Helene Nansen was a celebrated Norwegian mezzosoprano singer. She was also a pioneer of women's skiing.-Personal life:...
(1896) - Sophus LieSophus LieMarius Sophus Lie was a Norwegian mathematician. He largely created the theory of continuous symmetry, and applied it to the study of geometry and differential equations.- Biography :...
(1902) - Christian MichelsenChristian MichelsenPeter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of an independent Norway from 1905 to 1907...
(1906)
Other sources
- Østby, Leif Erik Werenskiold ( Oslo: Dreyers Forlag, 1977) ISBN 978-8209014905