Knut Rumohr
Knut Lindstrøm Rumohr (1916 to 2002) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker who grew up at Frønningen on the Sognefjord. He produced expressive abstractions from nature, prints and public commissions, and also collaborated on textiles. His pictures show how abstraction can maintain a relationship with landscape forms and colours without depicting a particular view.
Training and artistic development
Rumohr entered Bergen's school of applied arts in 1934. He continued at the Norwegian National College of Art and Design and studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts from 1938 to 1941 under Jean Heiberg and Georg Jacobsen. His training included geometric composition, while his later work became freer and more expressive.
From the early 1950s, he transformed impressions of nature through organic shapes and strong colour contrasts. Tempera became an important medium. Rocks, trees, fjords and mountains of western Norway remained perceptible in the pictures. During the 1960s, movement and tension within the forms became more pronounced.
Tempera and natural forms
Trestamme of 1962 in the National Museum is tempera on canvas, 115.5 × 141 cm. A dense vertical centre meets a lighter, airier background. The tree is both subject and starting point for pictorial space. Komposisjon II, also from 1962, is recorded as tempera on canvas but measures 110 × 170 cm.
Wood engraving, colour woodcut and lithography
Rumohr's prints require identification by technique and version. The National Museum records Dødsleiet of 1946 as a wood engraving on paper, 278 × 350 mm. Its impression is numbered 6/12. That evidence concerns this particular print, rather than his entire output.
Orientering is recorded as a colour woodcut on paper. The impression is dated 1969, while the printing block is dated probably 1969. The museum's impression measures 418 × 307 mm and is numbered 80/100. The distinction between the block's date and printing date should be retained even when both indicate the same year.
Lithography later assumed an important role. Frønningen's presentation of the artist documents lithographic work into the 1990s and painting until 1998. His career therefore extends well beyond the early woodcuts and the paintings of the 1960s.
Textiles and public spaces
Rumohr collaborated over many years with textile artist Annelise Knudtzon on woven rya rugs with abstract motifs. Describing such a work requires evidence for both the pictorial design and its execution in textiles. His commissions also included locations such as Lærdal Town Hall and Høyanger community centre.
Documenting an individual work
Distinguish a painting, an original print, an illustration and a later reproduction. Record titles, numbering and signatures as they actually appear. A signature printed within the image differs from a handwritten signature. Compare materials and dimensions with the specific catalogue entry; a matching title is insufficient.
When buying or selling, the condition of the paper or painting and a verifiable ownership history matter. Document fading, damp, tears, mounting, retouching and other interventions where present. Neither the biography nor a similar subject or signature authenticates the object.
Read more about woodcuts, lithography, modernism, artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
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