Christian Skredsvig: Towards the Modern
Christian Skredsvig, Deep Lake, 1903. Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, deposited at Buskerudmuseet, Hagan Skredsvig Kunstnerhjem
On the centennial of his passing, the Norwegian artist Christian Skredsvig (1854–1924) will be celebrated in a large exhibition at Henie Onstad, looking into his modernity.
Skredsvig lived and worked in Bærum for a long period of his life, and he painted several motifs found in the area. Amongst them are Sandvika, Høvik and Fleskum.
He is often associated with art traditions deeply rooted in the 19th century. Still, this exhibition will focus on Skredsvig's modernity, not by claiming that he broke through as a modernist himself, but by confronting the ambitions and conflicts that such a breakthrough entails.
As one of the most ambitious painters of his period, Skredsvig wanted to become an animal painter of international stature, with the Paris Salon as his main stage in the early 1880s to the 1890s. He travelled with the young Edvard Munch to the French Riviera, where they painted side by side.
Christian Skredsvig, Self portrait, 1886. Photo: Oslo Museum
In collaboration with the leading artists of the time, Skredsvig helped develop painting in a new direction.
This exhibition will offer a fresh perspective of the famous "Fleskum Summer" of 1886, and present a polyphony of voices such as Claude Monet, Munch, Kitty Kielland, Harriet Backer and Knut Hamsun to shed light on both an artist and a pivotal period in Norwegian art history.
The exhibition is generously supported by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.
Kitty Kielland, Summernight (study), 1886. The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.
Edvard Munch, Moonlight by the Mediterranean, 1892. The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design.
- Christian Skredsvig: Towards the Modern
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Caroline Ugelstad, Øystein Sjåstad and Victor Plahte Tschudi
