Rolf Dagfinn Groven is a 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...

 painter, known for his satirical art painted in figurative style. Groven's paintings are frequently printed works of art in textbooks used in Norwegian schools, as well as history books.

Biography

Groven was born in Romsdal

Romsdal

Romsdal is the name of a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named for the valley of Romsdalen, which covers part of Rauma.The...

 near Molde

Molde

is a city and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Romsdal region. The municipality is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord...

 during the Second World War, and trained as an architect at the Norwegian Institute of Technology

Norwegian Institute of Technology

The Norwegian Institute of Technology, known by its Norwegian abbrevation NTH was a science institute in Trondheim, Norway. It was established in 1910, and existed as an independent technical university for 85 years, after which it was merged into the University of Trondheim as an independent...

 (NTH, now a part of NTNU) 1966–72. His participation in the radical Anti-Vietnam War

Opposition to the Vietnam War

The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...

 movement convinced him that he should choose an artistic career. He lives 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...

.

Common themes

There have been several common themes in his art:

• Environmentalism
  Environmentalism
  Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
  
   - Groven created several works in the 1970s that propagated the nature conservation. Much of his artwork commented on the fear that the Norway's newly-won status as a petroleum-producing country would lead to excessive pollution (see "Oil Painting". He also commented on the dangers of nuclear power (see The nuclear power kid) and he agitated for the preservation of waterfalls (see Vandalism Site Inspection).
• The European Union
  European Union
  The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
  
   - Norway has held two referendums about joining the EU. The paintings Norwegian Neo Romanticism from 1972 and Free Flow from 1992 were among the best-known symbols of the popular anti EU-accession movement before these referendums.
• The peace movement (see No nukes)
• Religion
• Scenes from the Romsdal
  Romsdal
  Romsdal is the name of a traditional district in the Norwegian county Møre og Romsdal, located between Nordmøre and Sunnmøre. The district of Romsdal comprises Aukra, Fræna, Midsund, Molde, Nesset, Rauma, Sandøy, and Vestnes. It is named for the valley of Romsdalen, which covers part of Rauma.The...
  
   and Lofoten
  Lofoten
  Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.-Etymology:...
  
   areas of Norway

Groven's art is influenced by painters such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor whose work offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century...

, as well as Norwegian artists such as 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...

, Hans Gude

Hans Gude

Hans Fredrik Gude was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters...

, J.C. Dahl, Christian Krohg

Christian Krohg

Christian Krohg , was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist.-Life and career:...

 and the contemporary caricaturist Finn Graff

Finn Graff

Finn Graff is a Norwegian illustrator.He was born in Wangerooge, Germany as a son of aviator Heinz Friedrich Wöhlecke and translator Margit-Ruth Graff . He was an older brother of Jens Graff. He moved to Norway in 1946, but had no father and lived at the orphanage Christiania Opfostringshus from...

.

Selected works

• 1972 Norwegian Neo Romanticism (a.k.a. Willoch
  Kåre Willoch
  Kåre Isaachsen Willoch is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He served as Minister of Trade and Shipping in 1963 and 1965–1970, and as Prime Minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986...
  
   and Bratteli
  Trygve Bratteli
  was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party and Prime Minister of Norway in 1971–1972 and 1973–1976.-Early life and career:...
  
  ).
• 1975 "Oil Painting". Parody of one of Norway's best-known paintings from the 19th century Tidemand and Gude: Bridal Party in Hardanger, 1848
• 1977 The nuclear power kid 50,000 reproductions of this poster were printed in the 70s and 80s.
• 1978 West coast girl gutting fish (Vestlandsjente). Acquired by the National gallery of Norway.
• 1996 Women by church
• 2004 Molde as combat zone Historical recreation of wartime events April 29, 1940.

External links

• Website displaying 110 works (Text in Norwegian)
• Artists CV (Text in Norwegian)
• Stephanie Haas: Can Art Influence Political Policy on the Environment? A Case Study Examining Rolf Groven's Eco-Art (Master thesis, PDF)