- 140
August Cappelen Norwegian, 1827-1852
bidding is closed
Description
- August Cappelen
- Gammelt Kvernhus
- signed and dated A. Cappelen 1850 l.r.
- oil on canvas
- 31.5 by 42cm., 12¼ by 18½in.
Exhibited
Oslo, Blomqvist, Mindeutstilling, Herman August Cappelen 1827-1852, 1927, no. 59
Oslo Kunstforening, A Cappelen 1827-1852, 1957, no. 40
Oslo, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, August Cappelen, 1997, no. 14 (illustrated in colour in the catalogue)
Literature
Sigurd Willoch, August Cappelen og den romantiske landskapskunst, Oslo, 1928
Sigurd Willoch, 'Herman August Cappelen' in Norsk kunstnerleksikon, Oslo, 1981, vol. I, pp. 385-388
Catalogue Note
Cappelen came from Telemark in the middle of Norway. He joined Hans Gude in Düsseldorf as his pupil in 1846 but his life was cut tragically short on his death six years later at the age of just twenty-five years old. Despite his premature demise he left a body of work behind him which is remarkable for its rich vision of the Norwegian landscape.
Typically his compositions depict nature's continuous cycle of regeneration and decay, in which Norway's thickly forested woodland takes centre stage. In the present work the fecundity of nature is contrasted with the decaying sawmill, a symbol of man's vain attempt to tame his surroundings.
Typically his compositions depict nature's continuous cycle of regeneration and decay, in which Norway's thickly forested woodland takes centre stage. In the present work the fecundity of nature is contrasted with the decaying sawmill, a symbol of man's vain attempt to tame his surroundings.