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Norwegian Mountain Valley, B186
Pernille Klemp
Pernille Klemp

Explanation

  • That Dahl should draw and paint sketches in Naples and the surrounding area during his stay in Italy was quite natural. Nor is there anything remarkable in the fact that he made paintings based on his sketches from Naples. The fact that in Rome he also painted Norwegian motifs such as this will, however, probably come as something of a surprise. However, in the case of Dahl, being abroad simply increased his love of his native land. He said that it was necessary to live with art and the artists in Rome to really appreciate the Scandinavian landscape. Meanwhile, there was also another important reason for Dahl’s painting Norwegian landscapes in Rome. Such paintings were simply in demand. In the artistic milieu in Rome there were countless artists painting the Italian landscape and competition was fierce, but in the realm of Scandinavian landscape painting, Dahl had a unique background against which to supply the goods and thus ensure an income. Norwegian Mountain Valley is a richly composed fantasy landscape. The water flows diagonally from the mountains in the background on one side down to the lower corner of the frame on the other. The movement of the water is intersected by an opposite diagonal formed by the sun’s rays behind the clouds. On the right side of the picture, the landscape rises with a plateau and mountains on the right – on the left the landscape sinks along with the waterfall. Thus the landscape becomes something in the nature of a great organism that is breathing in on the right side and breathing out on the left. By juxtaposing these violent contrasts, but at the same time emphasising the way in which they depend on each other, Dahl makes Norwegian Mountain Valley into a genuine Romantic vision of nature.

Motif / Theme

Dimension

  • Height 96.8 cm
  • Width 134.6 cm

  • Inscription / Certification / Label

    Dahl Mai 1821

  • Type

    Signature

Sources / Literature