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Created by Duncan Designs
Updated: 1 February 2010

Pictures of the Month | May 2009

Picture of the Month
May 2009

Norwegian Fjord in Moonlight:
Motif from the Sogne-Fjord [1861]
by Marcus Larson (1825-64)

This overwhelming landscape shows a small boat, transporting fjord dwellers along the vast expanse of water at Sogne-Fjord in moonlight. Marcus Larson, a Swedish artist from Stockholm, was greatly inspired by the works of Norwegian painters, such as Johan Christian Dahl (1788-1857) who had a long-standing fascination with the effects of moonlight in nocturnal scenes. This view is taken from a dark shadowy corner of the fjord, with the glow of a fire emerging from a hut in the foreground as men scurry inside. A prominent rock in the centre of the painting covers the moon and casts a shadow on the foreground. However, in the distance a flash of light across the water leads the eye to the rocky landscape of the fjord beyond. The waterfall to the right of the painting breaks the still, calm expanse of water with its soft clouds.

Marcus Larson had a short artistic career, starting in 1848 when he won an academic prize for a study of a tree. From this point onwards the wonders of nature and the extreme Scandinavian weather became the focus of many of the artist's works. Larson primarily painted marine subjects, later depicting tempestuous mountainous landscapes. Influenced by the Nordic Art Exhibition in Stockholm in 1850, the artist went on a short study excursion to Norway in 1851 where he developed a fascination with the Norwegian landscape. He moved to Germany in 1852 to work with two prominent Norwegian landscape painters, Adolph Tidemand (1814-1876) and Hans Gude (1825-1903), who taught at the Düsseldorf academy.

This painting is a major exhibit in Northern Lights, which runs until 31 May and showcases Swedish landscapes between 1850 and 1910.

What is your favourite work of art in the Barber Institute galleries? Drop us a line at info@barber.org.uk and let us know, and we could feature your choice in a future Picture of the Month.