Gustav Wentzel
Nils Gustav Wentzel (1859 to 1927) was a Norwegian painter and draughtsman born in Christiania. His close depictions of work, home and everyday life gave him an important place in the naturalism of the 1880s. He later explored freer colour effects, rural settings and winter landscapes. His entire output should therefore not be understood solely through the meticulous detail of his early interiors.
A craft background and training as a painter
Wentzel trained as a bricklayer before choosing painting. He attended the Drawing School and studied with Knud Bergslien in the late 1870s. Encounters with French art in the 1880s, including studies in Paris, offered new possibilities for treating light and colour.
In his early pictures he carefully recorded objects' hardness, sheen and texture. Norsk kunstnerleksikon describes how this attention to material qualities was later accompanied by broader brushwork and freer colour compositions. His naturalism involved both contemporary subjects and an investigation of how visible appearances could be painted.
Et snekkerverksted and artists' exhibition rights
Et snekkerverksted of 1881 is oil on canvas, 52.8 × 69 cm. The National Museum links its rejection by Christiania Kunstforening to the conflict that helped bring about the Autumn Exhibition. The unidealised subject particularly challenged the association's taste, while the execution met contemporary painting standards. Its significance also concerns whom and what art could show.
Two breakfast pictures, different treatments of light
Frokost, often called Frokost I, of 1882 is oil on canvas. The National Museum records 101 × 137.5 cm. Warm interior light meets cooler window light, with small details receiving close attention. People and objects together convey everyday life within the room.
Morgenstemning, also known as Frokost II, is recorded with a date of 1885. This oil on canvas measures 126 × 141.8 cm. It is a separate work, rather than an alternative title for the 1882 painting. The comparison reveals a development towards more unified light effects and freer colour handling. Titles, dates and dimensions belong to each individual picture.
Preparatory work and later subjects
The National Museum's Studie til «Frokost I» is pencil on paper, 319 × 422 mm, dated 1882 or earlier. It documents drawing within the working process. The study and the large oil painting are different original objects. A printed reproduction of the study is another object again, despite sharing subject and artist's name.
From the 1890s, Asker and Gudbrandsdalen became important sources of subjects. Wentzel painted snowy landscapes and rural life, spending his final years in Lom. A later example in the National Museum is Kvinne kjerner smør, dated approximately 1920, oil on canvas, 99.5 × 130.5 cm. That qualification should be preserved when describing its date.
Documentation when buying and selling
Distinguish paintings, drawings, studies, repetitions and reproductions. A familiar title can refer to several objects or be used differently in older literature. Record support, technique, dimensions, signature and inscriptions, comparing them with a specific catalogue entry. An edition number or printed signature on a reproduction does not make the sheet an original painting or drawing.
For paintings, lining, overpainting, retouching, canvas damage and altered stretching are relevant. On drawings, document damp, discolouration, trimming and mounting. Receipts, old photographs and exhibition labels can support verifiable provenance. Biography and resemblance of subject alone do not establish the authorship of a particular work.
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
Browse related items in our online shop.
Contact OBA about selling and assessment (Norwegian page).
