Johan Christian Dahl

Mr Chetham [Cheetham?], Manchester (purchased from the artist in 1845, according to the the artist's sale ledger)
Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt (by 1987; sale: Christie's Düsseldorf, 31 January 2000, lot 130)
Purchased by the present owner in Norway in 2005

Andreas Aubert, Maleren Johan Christian Dahl. Et stykke av forrige Aarhundredes Kunst- och Kulturhistorie, Kristiania, 1920, p. 444, mentioned
Marie Lødrup Bang, Johan Chrstian Dahl, Life and Works, Oslo, 1987, vol. II, p. 306, no. 1022, catalogues; vol. III, pl. 433, illustrated

The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd, 13 & 14 Mason's Yard, London SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural condition The canvas has been lined and this is ensuring a secure structural support and has resolved the structural issues which have clearly affected the canvas in the past. It would appear that the painting has suffered from exposure to moisture which has caused losses along the lower horizontal turnover edge and stretching vertically up through the composition. Paint surface The most significant of the retouchings applied presumably to cover the losses mentioned above are: 1) large areas along the lower horizontal framing edge and in the lower part of the composition. 2) Vertical lines of retouching stretching up into the composition presumably covering flake losses where the moisture has permeated into the original canvas. 3) Extensive retouching in the sky and in the upper right of the composition. 4) An area in the mountains measuring approximately 15 x 5 cm with a vertical line running down towards the centre of the composition for approximately 30 cm. There are a number of other significant retouchings, and some retouchings are visible in a strong raking light as they have not been textured to match the surrounding paint layers. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in stable condition having undergone a considerable amount of conservation and restoration in the past. The extent of the retouchings should be noted.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Painted in 1845. Although Dahl settled permanently in Dresden after 1820, there establishing his international reputation, it was his love of the Norwegian landscape that fuelled his creative energies throughout his life.

For renewed inspiration he returned to his homeland for extended study trips on a number of occasions, including the summer of 1844, when he was accompanied by his children Caroline and Siegwald, as well as his pupil Peder Balke. Marie Lødrup Bang recounts their three month itinerary: 'Dahl left Dresden with his children and his pupil Peder Balke on 17 June for Copenhagen. On 25 they left Copenhagen for Gothenburg and Christiania. This time he was luckier with the weather (Diary February 1845). On 9 to 11 July Dahl was drawing in Maridalen outside Christiania. On the 17th they left Christiania, going north. On 21 July, they took the boat across to Mjøsa to Toten and Land. On 22nd they were at Bruflat in Valdres, on the next day at Strand at Kvamme, on the 24th at Øylo and Vang, on the 25th in Laerdal, and on 27th in Sognfiord on the way back to Bergen, where they spent three weeks. On 21 August they went back to Laerdal, on the 23rd they were in Hallingdal and Hemesdal [the inspiration for the present work], and continued via Hønefoss and Krokkleiva to Christiania. After a few days they left for Copenhagen... They were back in Dresden in October.' (Bang, vol. I, p. 183) 

During his travels Dahl sketched incessantly in his notebooks, amassing a huge number of studies which he could then work up into oil paintings on his return to his Dresden studio. As evident from Bang, the present work - a particularly impressive landscape - was the product of his 1844 journey, inspired by the mountainous region of Hallingdal, central Norway, which he passed through on 23 August that year. 

Waterfalls and rapids had been a favourite motif for Dahl over many years, both as an example of the phenomenon of nature and an expression of its awesome power. Marie Lødrup Bang explains such landscapes in the following terms: 'Dahl's tendency to maintain a certain distance from his subject - a certain time for reflection, as it were - imbues the scene with a calm dignity.' (Bang, vol. I, p. 150).