Johan Christian Dahl

Trondheim Kunstforening
A. Hagen, Trondheim
Cecilie Lysholm
J. Mack, Trondheim
John Hoel, Narvik
Blomqvist, Oslo
Purchased from the above by the family of the present owner

Trondheim, 1853, no. 116
Oslo, Blomqvist, Minneutstilling, J. C. Dahl 1788-1857, 1926, no. 94
Oslo, Kunstnernes Hus, J. C. Dahl's Verk, 1937, no. 564

M. Bugge, Trondhjems Kunstforening 1838-1888, Trondheim, 1895, p. 52
Andreas Aubert, Maleren Johan Christian Dahl, Kristiania, 1920, p. 261, illustrated
Marie Lødrup Bang, Johan Christian Dahl: 1788-1857: Life and Works, Oslo, 1987, vol. I, fig. 62, illustrated; vol. II, p. 311, no. 1041, catalogued; vol. III, pl. 442, illustrated

Original canvas, slightly slack on its stretcher. Under UV light there is some old retouching, notably to two interlocking 2 by 2cm repaired tears in the path near the lower edge (patched on the reverse) and addressing frame rubbing at the extreme upper edge. Apart from a light horizontal stretcher mark along the upper edge, and some light surface dirt, this work is in good condition, and could benefit from a light surface clean. The colours are slightly softer than in the catalogue illustration, and the white areas at the right of the extreme upper edge in the illustration are reflections, not damage. Held in a fine wood and plaster moulded frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

After leaving his native Bergen in 1811, Dahl re-visited Norway on only five subsequent occasions. In 1826, his first trip back in fifteen years, he travelled through the valleys of Valdres to sketch and paint. On his four visits thereafter to his homeland, he almost certainly took in the Valdres sights again, including on his return in 1844, two years before the present work was painted, when he visited Øylo and Vang on 24 July in the company of his children Siegwald and Caroline and his pupil Peder Balke (lots 30 & 55).      

On his return to Dresden, the oil paintings that he completed in his studio were based on the sketches that he had executed en plein air combined with the font of creative images that he drew upon as a painter. Dahl's particular fusion of first hand experience combined with distance and reflection conformed to the established Romantic dictum of emotion recollected in tranquility. Tracing the synthesis of Dahl's accurate recording of Øylo Farm with the poetic licence he takes in the composition, Bang finds similarities in the work with the painter's Nordic Mountain Valley of 1821, now in the Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen and View of Fortundalen of 1836, each of which share similar features, notably the distinctively leaning birch tree (Bang, nos. 312 & 805).