Axel Revold
Axel Revold (1887 to 1962), also recorded as Axel Julius Revold, was a Norwegian painter from Ålesund. Fishing, coastal landscapes and working life feature in both his easel paintings and frescoes.
Matisse, colour and form
He studied with Henri Matisse in Paris from 1908 to 1910 and studied fresco technique from 1919 to 1920. These studies were important to his development of monumental murals.
Distinct colour planes and contrasts organise the composition. Influences from Matisse and Cubism met northern Norwegian landscapes and working life, shifting attention from naturalistic representation towards the structure of the picture.
Nasjonalmuseet's Italienerinne, catalogued with the date “(1913)”, is oil on canvas, 92 × 73.5 cm. Painted in Marseille, its seated figure is constructed through firm composition and colour effects, with less emphasis on an individual psychological portrait.
Varebytte and the monumental surface
Revold won the Bergen Børs decoration competition in 1918. Wall painting began in 1921 and was completed in 1923. The ten compositions of Varebytte include fishing, trade, imports and shipbuilding. The sequence brings together scenes of work and the city's trading connections.
A preparatory study must be distinguished from the finished mural. The museum's Jordbruk. Utkast til freskodekorasjon i Bergen Børs is catalogued as “(1922)”, oil on plywood, 145 × 137.5 cm. A motif may therefore form part of a fresco's development without itself being painted in fresco technique.
Geografien and the library frescoes
Geografien (1927) at Hersleb School is recorded by Oslo's municipal art collection as a fresco, 650 × 220 cm. Fresco paint is applied to wet plaster and forms part of the building. The collection's presentation also discusses recent debate about the work's ideas of exploration and colonisation. Its historical subject matter should therefore be contextualised, rather than uncritically presented as a heroic narrative.
At Oslo's former University Library, Revold painted Nornene under Yggdrasil and Den nye jord from 1932 to 1933. The building is now the National Library of Norway, which still presents frescoes by Revold, Per Krohg and Emanuel Vigeland in its entrance area. The three artists' contributions must be distinguished.
Easel paintings and teaching
Fiskerflåten drar ut at Nasjonalmuseet is dated “(1935)”: oil on canvas, 81 × 100.5 cm. The museum bought it from the artist in 1935. This documented individual painting must not be confused with a printed reproduction of the familiar motif.
Revold was also an important teacher at Statens Kunstakademi. His professorship from 1925 to 1946 must be understood with its interruption during the occupation; he taught at Det illegale akademi.
Materials, condition and ownership history
When assessing a work, an original painting, a preparatory study and a reproduction must be examined as different objects. Record the support, dimensions, paint surface, signature, labels and provenance. A printed reproduction may preserve the composition without sharing the original's materials or execution. Biography and similarity of subject do not establish authorship.
For paintings, relevant factors include craquelure, flaking, cleaning, retouching and any lining. Plywood panels may show warping or delamination, requiring a different condition assessment from canvas. For a work described as a fresco study, examine old photographs, exhibition history and documentation of the specific decorative project. This overview cannot establish any general edition or signature form.
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
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