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Hans Dahl (19 February 1849, Granvin – 27 July 1937) was a Norwegian painter. He was famous for his paintings of Norwegian fjords and surrounding landscapes. He was born in the village of Granvin, on the Hardangerfjord, in the county of Hordaland in Norway.
His talent was already evident when Dahl was 16 years old. However, it was only after service in the Swedish army that Dahl received artistic education. He was educated first to become an officer and became a lieutenant in 1871. He served in the Bergenske Brigade until 1874.
After leaving the army, he apprenticed with Johan Fredrik Eckersberg and Knud Bergslien. He went to Karlsruhe, where he studied under Hans Fredrik Gude and Wilhelm Riefstahl and then to Düsseldorf, where his teachers included Eduard von Gebhardt and Wilhelm Sohn. His art became associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting, which was characterized by finely detailed yet still fanciful landscapes.
By The Fjord
uploaded by user:Staszek99
Girl in a Field
On The Banks of the Fjord
From ARC at artrenewal.org
An Alpine Landscape With A Shepherdess And Goats
In The Mountains
Returning From the Fields
By the Water's Edge
Dahl painted the spectacular scenery of the western part of Norway - vestlandet - and often put beautiful, blond girls in national costumes in his paintings. Dahl was well known abroad; he was a close friend of the German emperor and was well liked in the village.
He had his first exhibition in Düsseldorf in 1876. Already then he had found a style and subjects which he later kept to. He lived in Germany from 1888 but every summer he went to Norway to make sketches of the "vestland" scenery.
In the 1890s a new school of art arose, and artists like Dahl were not very popular in the leading circles in the capital. He was particularly criticised by the art historian Jens Thiis. There are no paintings by Hans Dahl in the National Art Gallery. They were much opposed to his kind of painting. The artist Christian Krogh also disapproved of the so-called Düsseldorfers. Hans Dahl however, maintained his opinion of art. He had good writing skills and enjoyed a debate. In the publication "Malerne og publikum" he wrote that he wanted art to be comprehensible to ordinary people. He did not want it to be highbrow culture for the elite. Dahl often described the scenery of the western part of Norway in brilliant sunshine with smiling people in national costumes. He was not highly valued as an artist by art critiques in his own time. However, he had a large market with private collectors. In the 1980s paintings by Hans Dahl have fetched prices around 200000 kroner.
Hans Dahl was concerned with his health. He often slept on the veranda in winter time. Both his beard and bed clothes were rime frozen in the morning. However, Dahl dressed in woollen cloths and thought wool particularly important to people's health. He wrote both articles and a small book about this. In the publication "How to strengthen ones Health and Work Capacity" he puts forward his thoughts and in 1928 he gave a lecture in Oslo. He thundered against the medical experts who were present. Dr. Tannberg said: "I am no supporter of all this wool." Dahl did not change his mind because of this. He was otherwise a light-hearted man. "Keep a cheerful mind in Storm as well as in Sunshine" he once wrote.
Dahl specialised in painting the beautiful landscapes of Norway depicting the monumental mountains and fijords. Unlike his contemporary Normann, who also painted the fijords, Dahl nearly always included figures in his landscapes. In this magnificent painting, above, the charming young peasant girl is wistfully gazing over the water, perhaps thinking of her beau in the distant boat. This gives a romantic element to the painting which contrasts well with the grandeur of the landscape. The perspective in the painting is executed with masterly precision and ones eye is drawn towards the centre of the work by the dramatic diagonal lines and then on to the far shore. The sky is very atmospheric and the artist's use of light is highly skilful. Dahl painted many works throughout his life but this work shows Dahl at his very best. Exhibited : Berlin (Art Academy), Munich, Dusseldorf, Vienna, Philadelphia
Hans Dahl at Villa Strandheim
German Federal Archive
The German emperor was an annual summer guest in Balestrand until World War I. He liked both Dahl and his work. Dahl's home was in many ways also the Emperor's home when he visited Balestrand. Dahl was the emperor's good friend. He also acted as a consultant when Wilhelm started the work with the statues in Balestrand and Vangsnes.
Every summer there were garden parties in Dahl's garden. Then Dahl acted as host and the Emperor was the guest of honour. Ladies from the upper classes in Bergen had come to Balestrand. On the other side of the picket fence the wide-eyed villagers were watching.
Dahl kept in contact with the Emperor throughout his life, and we expect that this was a deep personal friendship. He was highly valued both by Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II. Wilhelm II bought many paintings from Dahl. In 1910 Dahl was appointed Royal Prussian Professor of Art.
On the19th of February 1919, Hans Dahl was 70 years old. He celebrated by throwing a party in his villa. Sigurd Kvikne was one of the guests and said in his speech that Hans Dahl had made Norway known abroad and that Balestrand owed him great thanks because so many visitors had come there. While Dahl lived in Balestrand, he made many travels in the district. He went to both the mountains and the different arms of the fjord in search of subjects to paint. He often brought girls with him as models. The persons who modelled for him characterised him as a nice man, kind and understanding. Dahl usually employed two girls as models. He paid them 80100 kroner a month. "It was a lot of money in those days", said a woman who worked as a model for many years. Hans Dahl died in Balestrand in 1937.
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