Nikolai Astrup
Encyclopedia
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...
.
Biography
Astrup was born in BremangerBremanger
Bremanger is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Bremanger is the only municipality in Sogn og Fjordane, which is located in two districts. The north-eastern parts comprising Oldeide, Berle, Rugsund, Davik, Isane and Ålfoten is located in Nordfjord, while Bremanger, Kalvåg,...
in Nordfjord
Nordfjord
Nordfjord is a fjord and a traditional district in the northern part of Sogn og Fjordane county in Western Norway. The district comprises the municipalities of Selje, Vågsøy, Bremanger, Eid, Gloppen, Hornindal, and Stryn. Nordfjord covers an area of and is home to a population of approximately...
, but grew up in Ålhus
Ålhus
Ålhus is a small village in the municipality of Jølster in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located on highway on the northern side of the lake Jølstravatnet, in a largely agricultural area. Ålhus is located west of the village of Skei and northeast of the villages of Vassenden and...
in Jølster
Jølster
Jølster is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative centre is the village of Skei...
where his father worked as a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. He was the great-grandson of Nils Astrup
Nils Astrup
Nils Astrup was a Norwegian politician.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1820, representing the constituency of Nedenæs og Raabygdelagets Amt. He worked as a vogt there. He served only one term....
, a one-term member of parliament. His father Christian wanted Nikolai, the oldest son, to become a priest as well, but Nikolai was more interested in drawing and painting. He studied these subjects 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...
where he was a student at Backer popular school of painting.
He later lived for a while, 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...
and in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
before returning to Jølster. He got married there and had 8 children. The economy was very tight and he struggled with poor health. Astrup died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in 1928 at the age of 47 in Jølster's neighbouring municipality Førde
Førde
Førde is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnfjord. The administrative center is the town of Førde which in 2010 had 12,035 inhabitants. The historic village of Bruland is located just east of the town of Førde...
.
Astrup preferred clear, strong colors and usually made landscape art
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
depicting his surroundings in Jølster. His painting were intimate interaction with nature and the built environment a distinctive rich color. Astrup is regarded as a neo-romantic
Neo-romanticism
The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in music, painting and architecture. It has been used with reference to very late 19th century and early 20th century composers such as Gustav Mahler particularly by Carl Dahlhaus who uses it as synonymous with late Romanticism...
painter, but he also worked with woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s. Nikolai Astrup is looked upon as one of the greatest Norwegian
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...
artists from the early 1900s, and several of his paintings have been sold at auctions for approximately $500,000 USD.
Oil paintings
- Tun i Jølster, (1902)
- Stabbur i Jølster, (before 1905)
- Kvennagong, (before 1905)
- Prestegården, (before 1907)
- Grå vårkveld, (1907)
- Juninatt og gammelt vestlandstun, (before 1908)
- Kollen, (1908)
- Vårnatt i hagen, (1909)
- Jonsokbål, (1912–26)
- Vårstemning, (before 1914)
- Priseld, (1915)
- Revebjelle, (ca. 1920)
- Interiør med vugge, (ca. 1920)