Christian Skredsvig
Christian Skredsvig (1854-1924) was a Norwegian visual artist from Modum. He died in Eggedal in Sigdal, the area that also became the setting for his later artistic life.
From animal painting to painting outdoors
His training took him from Kristiania to Copenhagen, Munich and Paris. In Munich he concentrated on animals in landscapes. His French breakthrough was Une Ferme à Venoix, awarded a gold medal at the Salon in 1881. He settled at Fleskum in 1885 and later in Eggedal, where Hagan became his home.
Fleskum and poetic nature
Artist friends gathered at Fleskum in summer 1886. Skredsvig's Sankthansaften belongs to this setting; Seljefløyten was completed in 1889. His observations of nature gradually acquired a Neo-Romantic dimension, with deeper colours, religious narratives and literary associations. He also wrote books.
Two works showing his range
Oktobermorgen ved Grez, dated 1881-1882, is catalogued by the National Museum as oil on canvas, 133 × 204 cm. Its scale recalls his ambitious compositions from periods abroad, extending beyond the Norwegian subjects often associated with his name.
Menneskesønnen, dated 1891, is another monumental National Museum painting: oil on canvas, 324 × 452 cm. These details provide a reliable reference for this work's title, date, medium and size. They do not identify other pictures with similar subjects.
Tradition and renewal
Henie Onstad's research and exhibition explore the tension between Skredsvig's traditional grounding and newer artistic ambitions. He painted alongside Edvard Munch on the Riviera but did not follow the same modernist course. Changes across his career are therefore more informative than a single stylistic label.
A Skredsvig subject does not identify an object
When examining a possible work, consider the subject, execution and history together. A study, an independent composition and a later reproduction of a familiar painting can look related in photographs. An accurate description requires measurements without the frame, close photographs of the paint surface and signature area, and the entire reverse. Photograph old labels before removing or covering them.
A name printed with an image forms part of the reproduction and does not establish a handwritten signature. State whether the object is a painting or a reproduction, and distinguish documented authorship from a provisional attribution. Describe paint losses, retouching and changes in varnish specifically. Old frames, canvas stretching and ownership information can provide useful clues, but should be assessed as documentation rather than independent proof of authenticity.
Explore related items
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history, Edvard Munch.
Browse art in our online shop.
Contact OBA about selling and assessment (Norwegian page).
