Winter's Land. Winter Through the Eyes of Norwegian Artists
Opstad, Gunvald: Vinterland. Norske kunstnere ser på vinteren.Many of Norway’s best known artworks are winter scenes, pictures that have helped shape Norwegian identity and feeling for nature. This book introduces the works selected by Queen Sonja for the Olympic Games’ Winter’s Land Exhibition, which looked at how Norwegian artists have depicted winter over the past 150 years.
The famous Norwegian artists represented include J.C. Dahl, Peder Balke, Hans Gude, Adolph Tidemann, Frits Thaulow, Christian Krohg, Erik Werenskiold, Gerhard Munthe, Harald Sohlberg, Edvard Munch, Jakob Weidemann, Kåre Tveter, Frans Widerberg, Árnulf Opdahl and Olav Christopher Jenssen. The book thus presents a unique opportunity to get to know the Norwegian art of the past century and a half.
The collection bears witness to good taste and that sense of discrimination that has played a large part in the choice of pictures. The text amplifies the pictures well and reviews the historical origins and development of winter motifs in European art. It is natural that the German romantic artist, Caspar David Friedrich, a close friend of the Norwegian painter J.C. Dahl, should occupy a key place in the presentation.
Rather than indulge in national self-glorification, the author has chosen to place the pictures in their niche in art history. This enables comparisons to be drawn and perspectives to be glimpsed, beyond the purely national.
Publisher: H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard) 1993
ISBN: 82-03-17203-2
142 pages, hardcover
