Today, we visit a country not truly known as being a centre of the arts. Norwegian art is mostly grouped together with the other Scandinavian countries under the name Nordic Art. For most of Norways artistic history, it has been influenced by Denmark, Germany and Holland and after WWII by the USA art scene. Norwegian Art came into its’ own in the 19th century mostly through the efforts of its’ landscape painters and later through Impressionism and Realism later. For most people, Edvard Munch would be considered Norways greatest artist but there were fine artists before him.

Among them were Johann Christian Dahl, Johannes Flintoe, Adolph Tidemand, and Kitty Kielland (an early female painter).

The two small oils are winter #landscapes. One showing two remote buildings in the wintry hills and the other a lakeshore in the cold of winter. They are painted by Nini #Arntzen (I think that is what the first name reads – more confident about the last name) and dated 1895. Both are finely rendered with a nice use of colour and tone. Nicely layered allowing the play of light and shadow to highlight and accentuate. They both could use a light clean which would brighten the colours somewhat. Even so, two small oils which come from a time in a countries emergence as an artistic centre in the genre from which it began – landscapes of the country itself. The heart and soul of #Norway.