A Life, Lived: Stavanger Kunstmuseum

The Stavager Kunstmuseum (or fine arts museum) was originally started when a small group of local art lovers got together to pool their collection. It eventually grew into a public museum of fine arts. The museum is located on the west side of the lake across from the hotel. The museum has an extensive collection of more than two thousand works by Norwegian and international art from the 1800s to the present day. Works by Lars Hertervig constitutes a center of gravity, with more than 70 watercolors and oil paintings. Other Norwegian artists from 1800 - and 1900's are represented Kitty Kielland, Edvard Munch, Christian Krogh, Eilif Petersen, Knut Baade, Olaf Lange, Carl Sundt-Hansen and Harriet Backer.

Last Thursday there was a key note speaker at the end of the day. I had already seen this presentation in the summer and when I ran into the speaker at the airport she told me not to come on Thursday because I'd be bored. Having seen Maggie speak before I knew I'd not be bored but it did provide an opportunity to take a short walk and visit the art museum.

The weather had shifted and it was getting foggy.

The town had built a pedestrian underpass underneath the busy street. One of my observations of Norway is that they had planned the city with both pedestrians and cyclists in mind.

At the other end of the underpass you come out on the tranquility of the lake surrounded by pathways, forests, gardens, and art installations. I was a bit surprised with this small pond. I'm not sure what was so special about oit that these two pairs of ducks were nesting there rather than in the big lake 20 feet away but such is the mind of a duck apparently.

The gallery consists of a large glass dome which forms the guest facilities and two wings on other side which house the displays. Like many galleris most of the collection is in storage due to space limitations.

One of he exhibits featured a local artist who found fame in his lithographs and etchings. Olav Lange studied in Paris, at Académie Julien (1897—1901), and lived in Munich and Dachau from 1903 to 1943. His years there were interspersed with sojourns elsewhere. During World War I he lived in Copenhagen, and after being expelled from Germany in 1943, he returned to Norway. By this time he could look back on a career involving many international exhibitions and several years as the German correspondent for the newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad and other Norwegian and Swedish newspapers. Lange bequeathed several works and artist proofs to Stavanger Faste Galleri – the forerunner of Stavanger Art Museum.

It is with his colour etchings of typical Art Nouveau subjects and literary motifs that Lange made his most significant contribution to Norwegian art history. The subject matter includes, for instance, a quatic flora and fauna, butterflies and often ambiguous depictions of women: femme fatale, strong women, sensual and innocent types, also women who might be or are in bondage or suffering. The literary subjects are primarily drawn from the literature of Gustav Flaubert, but we also find references to Biblical texts and Indian sagas. The colour etchings are particularly influenced by a southern German Art Nouveau style, and by works by artists such as Max Klinger and Franz von Stuck.

The core of the exhibition featured colour etchings from 1904—1912, which were presented thematically and in the context of works by other relevant artists. The exhibition also included Lange’s large paintings of Art Nouveau subjects, urban themes, floral motifs and the unique collages he made in preparation for creating larger works. I was particularly impressed with the part of the exhibition which focused on the dramatic period in German history which Lange witnessed and on which he reported.

The other exhibition featured the work of a local art collector who had bequeathed his collection to the museum. I always find collections like this interesting as you try to get a sense of the person from the art they found tugged at their heart. It was set up in what I was advised were classic Norwegian themes for art - the future, landscape, workers, family, and the home.