MUNTHE, Gerhard

Although Gerhard Munthe (1849-1929) is probably best known as a painter, his most original contributions were in the areas of design and interior decoration.

His largest works in these areas include King Håkon’s Hall in Bergen (1910-15; destroyed 1944) and the Fairy-tale Room at the Holmenkollen Tourist Hotel (1896; destroyed 1914). In addition to the wall ornamentation, he also designed furniture, doors and other fixtures for these venues. In doing so, these works became part of the country’s first Gesamtkunstwerk.

The armchair from the Holmenkollen Tourist Hotel was designed by Gerhard Munthe and manufactured by the cabinetmaker and wood-carver Johan Borgersen (1863-1930).

The painting depicts a typical Eastern Norwegian farmyard on a warm summer’s eve. The workday is over, and a horse rests beneath a large, shady tree, while the man in the centre of the picture is having a chat with a woman through an open window; in the overgrown garden, roses are blooming. Gerhard Munthe has meticulously depicted the details of this scene and captured the special lighting. The viewer is guided effortlessly into the picture from the tree on the left, through the horse and toward the man standing by the house. The viewer’s gaze is then led onward to the sunlit left end of the house, and we can barely make out the outhouse on the left. The colouring is subdued, with an emphasis on nuances of green in the vegetation and of grey in the outside walls of the house.

Already as a young art student in Munich in the 1870s, Munthe decided to depict the landscape that he knew from his formative years in Eastern Norway. He found a treasure trove of scenes and images in the area’s calm, unhurried cultural landscapes, where human activity flourished. Many of the paintings seem like odes to everyday life and are often imbued with an intimate, peaceful atmosphere. Inspired by French plein-air painting, Munthe became one of the first Norwegian artists to categorically work outdoors and realistically depict the scene at hand.

After moving back to Norway from Munich in 1882, he would often frequent the villages of Hedmark to paint, and it was there, amidst the hills sloping down toward Lake Mjøsa, that he found the scenery for At the Farm, Ulvin.

After 1892 Munthe produced some decorative watercolours in the tradition of European Art Nouveau, a series of ‘fairy-tale moods’ intended to appeal to the viewer’s subconscious and depict subjects that could not be expressed through a naturalistic approach. The style was based to some extent on old Norwegian art, mainly peasant rugs from the 18th century, but Munthe was also influenced by the work of modern French painters such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Paul Gauguin. There are literary allusions to medieval Norwegian folk poetry and the work of the Belgian Symbolist poet and dramatist Maurice Maeterlinck. Perspective is discarded, and firm, curved outlines surround areas of strong and unmixed colours. The colours are used to evoke particular moods and were also chosen as seeming typically Norwegian.

His first series of watercolours, exhibited in 1893, included the Horse of Death, Afraid of the Dark and the Daughters of the Northern Lights and their Suitors (all National Gallery, Oslo). Some of these compositions were subsequently made into designs for tapestry.

Munthe’s first series of watercolours, exhibited in 1893, included the Horse of Death, Afraid of the Dark and the Daughters of the Northern Lights and their Suitors (all National Gallery, Oslo). Some of these compositions were subsequently made into designs for tapestry.

The Suitors tapestry was woven by Augusta Christensen (1852-1923), a Norwegian weaver, one of the foremost in the country. She did not design the patterns herself but weaved after watercolours and cartons by other artists, mainly Gerhard Munthe. Daughters of the Northern Lights was made after a watercolour (1892, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo) by Munthe.

During his long stay in Germany, he painted about 70 oils, mainly dark in tone but quite varied in content. They are largely based on impressions of the coastal towns or interior of Norway rather than being inspired by German motifs. Suburb (1879; National Gallery, Oslo) and Nevlunghavn (1881; Rasmus Meyer Collection, Bergen) are good examples of Munthe’s work of this time. With such paintings, he emerged as one of Norway’s leading artists.

Gerhard Munthe’s most significant contributions as an illustrator/designer came in his work with the 1899 deluxe edition of Heimskringla. He drew the entire set of vignettes and a number of the illustrations as well as the book’s binding.

Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings’ sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) c. 1230. The name Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts (kringla heimsins, “the circle of the world”).

Heimskringla is a collection of sagas about Swedish and Norwegian kings, beginning with the saga of the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglings, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair of the 9th century up to the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla in 1177.

The picture shows an illustration of Harald Hardrådes saga in Heimskringla, 1899 edition. This book was published by J.M. Stenersen & Co.

After 1892 Munthe produced some decorative watercolours in the tradition of European Art Nouveau, a series of ‘fairy-tale moods’ intended to appeal to the viewer’s subconscious and depict subjects that could not be expressed through a naturalistic approach. The style was based to some extent on old Norwegian art, mainly peasant rugs from the 18th century, but Munthe was also influenced by the work of modern French painters such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Paul Gauguin. There are literary allusions to medieval Norwegian folk poetry and the work of the Belgian Symbolist poet and dramatist Maurice Maeterlinck. Perspective is discarded, and firm, curved outlines surround areas of strong and unmixed colours. The colours are used to evoke particular moods and were also chosen as seeming typically Norwegian.

His first series of watercolours, exhibited in 1893, included the Horse of Death, Afraid of the Dark and the Daughters of the Northern Lights and their Suitors (all National Gallery, Oslo). Some of these compositions were subsequently made into designs for tapestry.

In Scandinavia, artists combined local folk traditions with aspects of Japanese design and the Arts and Crafts aesthetic to create Art Nouveau tapestries that had flat shapes and definite outlines. From 1887 the Norwegian Frida Hansen introduced innovative weaving techniques. Gerhard Munthe developed a style based on medieval Norwegian tapestry, using natural dyes and simplified figures without modelling. One of the principal centres of tapestry-weaving in Norway was Gudbrandsdal. Throughout Scandinavia, local flax and wool continued to be used, and, following Arts and Crafts ideals, tapestries and other crafts were created for home environments. The Lutheran church revived the tradition of tapestries being hung in church buildings, commissioning works using folk designs.

The Mørkredd tapestry is hand-woven with multi-thread cotton yarn in the warp and two-thread wool yarn in the weft. It was woven by Augusta Christensen (1852-1923), a Norwegian weaver, one of the foremost in the country. She did not design the patterns herself but weaved after watercolours and cartons by other artists, mainly Gerhard Munthe. Mørkredd was made after a watercolour (1892, Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo) by Munthe.

The dinner service, to which the plate belongs, was manufactured by Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik AS between 1893 and 1911.

Although Gerhard Munthe (1849-1929) is probably best known as a painter, his most original contributions were in the areas of design and interior decoration.

In 1891, Gerhard Munthe said that Norway’s national industry did not incorporate any uniquely Norwegian pattern but had borrowed everything from somewhere else. This “drew my attention to industry”, Munthe said, and he went on to create over eighty different designs for wallpaper, textiles, porcelain and graphic art. He later expanded his repertoire to encompass furniture, silver, book bindings, illustrations, typefaces and bookplates.

Later works in tapestry, silver, woodcarving and porcelain were modelled on many of the vignettes Munthe created for Heimskringla. The Porsgrunds porcelain factory employed many of his vignettes on platters and vases.

The dinner service, to which the soup terrine belongs, was manufactured by Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik AS between 1893 and 1911.

Although Gerhard Munthe (1849-1929) is probably best known as a painter, his most original contributions were in the areas of design and interior decoration.

In 1891, Gerhard Munthe said that Norway’s national industry did not incorporate any uniquely Norwegian pattern but had borrowed everything from somewhere else. This “drew my attention to industry”, Munthe said, and he went on to create over eighty different designs for wallpaper, textiles, porcelain and graphic art. He later expanded his repertoire to encompass furniture, silver, book bindings, illustrations, typefaces and bookplates.

Later works in tapestry, silver, woodcarving and porcelain were modelled on many of the vignettes Munthe created for Heimskringla. The Porsgrunds porcelain factory employed many of his vignettes on platters and vases.

After 1892 Munthe produced some decorative watercolours in the tradition of European Art Nouveau, a series of ‘fairy-tale moods’ intended to appeal to the viewer’s subconscious and depict subjects that could not be expressed through a naturalistic approach. The style was based to some extent on old Norwegian art, mainly peasant rugs from the 18th century, but Munthe was also influenced by the work of modern French painters such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Paul Gauguin. There are literary allusions to medieval Norwegian folk poetry and the work of the Belgian Symbolist poet and dramatist Maurice Maeterlinck. Perspective is discarded, and firm, curved outlines surround areas of strong and unmixed colours. The colours are used to evoke particular moods and were also chosen as seeming typically Norwegian.

His first series of watercolours, exhibited in 1893, included the Horse of Hell, Afraid of the Dark and the Daughters of the Northern Lights and their Suitors (all National Gallery, Oslo). Some of these compositions were subsequently made into designs for tapestry.

Munthe’s tapestry designs were inspired by ancient Norwegian tradition and derived their subjects from mythology and the realm of the fairytale. His illustrations to the Heimskringla, a history of the Norse kings by Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241), yielded some of the most beautiful designs, for example, The Horses of the Sea.

After 1890 Munthe’s landscapes reflected the contemporary trend towards simplification of form and the use of expressive colours.