Nikolai Astrup

Nikolai Astrup painted the landscape of western Norway in intense, saturated colour: green fjord valleys, bright June nights, bonfires on Midsummer Eve and his own farm with its rhubarb patches. His pictures are bold in line and colour and warmer in mood than much Norwegian painting of his time.

He was born in 1880 in Kalvåg, Norway, and grew up in Jølster. He studied at Harriet Backer’s school in Kristiania and in Paris at the Académie Julian and the Académie Colarossi, and later briefly in Berlin. From 1913 he lived at Sandalstrand in Jølster, where his home, Astruptunet, is now open to visitors. He was also a gifted maker of colour woodcuts. Known paintings include A Clear Night in June and Midsummer Eve Bonfire. KODE in Bergen holds a large collection. He died in 1928.

Look at how he uses flat areas of strong colour, a habit that came partly from his woodcuts.