Eilif Peterssen
Eilif Peterssen (1852 to 1928) was a Norwegian painter and draughtsman born in Christiania. His work ranges from historical figure compositions and religious pictures to portraits and atmospheric landscapes. His development combined academic training, older European painting and contemporary interest in daylight and plein-air painting.
Training and historical subjects
After the Drawing School and Eckersberg's painting school, Peterssen continued his training in Copenhagen, Karlsruhe and Munich. Hans Gude became an important mentor. In Munich he studied under Wilhelm Diez and worked on history painting. His breakthrough came with Christian 2 underskriver Torben Oxes dødsdom of 1876.
The National Museum's Corfitz Ulfeldts død. Skisse of 1874 is oil on canvas mounted on cardboard, 33 × 46.5 cm. The museum links it to a larger painting. The sketch is a separate physical object and should not inherit the finished painting's dimensions or history. “Sketch” describes its role in the working process, not a reproduction.
Sommernatt and atmospheric landscape
Visits to Italy and France contributed to lighter, more immediate painting. Alongside historical and religious commissions, he worked with everyday subjects and landscapes. His development should therefore not be described as though one new direction entirely replaced the others.
Sommernatt of 1886 is oil on canvas, 133 × 151 cm. It depicts Dælivannet by Fleskum in Bærum, with still water, reflected moonlight and trees close to the viewer. Muted colour and close framing concentrate the evening atmosphere. It belongs to the important Fleskum summer and Norwegian Neo-Romanticism.
Oseana's presentation emphasises that Peterssen painted atmospheric landscapes while still in Munich. Fleskum was thus a central meeting point within a development with earlier roots. A familiar title such as Sommernatt may also occur in the work of different artists and does not identify a painting by itself.
Sandø: variations and drawings
Sommerkveld, Sandø in the National Museum is oil on canvas, 42 × 58 cm, dated 1884 in parentheses. The museum also holds Kornåker, Sandø, pencil on paper, 118 × 193 mm, probably from 1884. The collection demonstrates connections between paintings and drawn studies without treating them as the same object.
Peterssen revisited the Sandø subject in several variations. A related subject therefore requires investigation of its own dimensions, technique and documented date. Do not transfer the date of one catalogued painting to every work depicting a woman beside a field or a summer evening.
Portraits and continued activity
Forfatteren Arne Garborg of 1894 exemplifies his portrait work. The National Museum's painting is oil on canvas, 133 × 106 cm, purchased in 1895. Date of creation and the collection's acquisition year are therefore separate details.
Later interior decorations include Gujamars sang for William Nygaard, executed from 1904 to 1907. Religious painting also continued into the twentieth century. Portraiture, decorative interiors and church painting are essential to the whole, even where summer-night subjects dominate presentations of the artist.
Originals, repetitions and documentation
Distinguish original paintings, autograph sketches, painted repetitions, original drawings and printed reproductions. Reproducing a painting on paper does not make it an original print. Document the position and execution of signatures alongside support, dimensions and earlier ownership history.
Examine canvas, mounted canvas or board according to the construction of the particular work. Describe retouching, overpainting, tears, damp, trimming and altered stretching. Preserve labels, receipts and old photographs. A familiar composition or similar signature alone does not authenticate a work.
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history, Hans Gude.
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Sources and further reading
- Nasjonalmuseet: Eilif Peterssen
- Store norske leksikon
- Norsk kunstnerleksikon
- Norsk biografisk leksikon
- Nasjonalmuseet: Corfitz Ulfeldts død. Skisse
- Nasjonalmuseet: Sommernatt
- Oseana: Peterssens stemningslandskap
- Nasjonalmuseet: Sommerkveld, Sandø
- Nasjonalmuseet: Kornåker, Sandø
- Nasjonalmuseet: Forfatteren Arne Garborg
