Alf Rolfsen (28 January 1895 – 10 November 1979) was a Norwegian painter and muralist.

Personal life

Rolfsen was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(now Oslo), Norway. He was the son of writer

Nordahl Rolfsen Johan Nordahl Brun Rolfsen (12 June 1848 – 18 January 1928) was a Norwegian writer, educationalist and teacher, journalist, translator and speaker. He is best known for the series of five readers for elementary school, (1892–1895), w ...

(1848-1928) and Hedevig Martha Hastrup Birch (1858–1937). He was married to Ingrid Platou (1893–1980) in 1920. He was a cousin of both poet Nordahl Grieg (1902–1943) and publisher

Harald Grieg Harald Grieg (3 August 1894 – 6 October 1972) was a Norwegian publisher. He was director of Gyldendal Norsk Forlag and for many years was a leading figure in the Norwegian book industry. Biography Grieg was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the ...

(1894–1972).

Career

He studied art under Danish artist Peter Rostrup Bøyesen (1882-1952) in Copenhagen from 1913-16. He debuted in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1916, followed by study in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

from 1919-20 where he was strongly influenced by

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. Biography Early years Derain was born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France, just outside Paris. I ...

(1880–1954). After returning home, he held his first solo exhibition at Oslo in 1920. Rolfsen followed with a series of study trips to Italy during 1921-22. In 1922, he was given the task of painting the foundation wall in the exhibition hall at the new Telegraph Building at Kongens gate 21 in Oslo. The building was completed in 1924 based upon designs by architects

Arnstein Arneberg Arnstein Rynning Arneberg (6 July 1882 – 9 June 1961) was a Norwegian architect. He was active professionally for 50 years and is often considered the leading architect in Norway of his time. Personal life Arnstein Rynning Arneberg was b ...

(1882-1961) and

Magnus Poulsson Magnus Poulsson (14 July 1881 – 18 March 1958) was a Norwegian architect. Biography Poulsson was born in Drammen, Buskerud county, Norway. His parents were Søren Anton Poulsson (1847–1934) and Ina Bolette Jørgensen (1851–1922). He studie ...

(1881-1958). In 1938, Rolfsen was given the task of decorating three of the walls in the Central Hall of the Oslo City Hall (), the site at which the annual

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

ceremonies have been held since 1990. The northern wall is covered by the painting titled . On the eastern wall is the work , about long, with motifs from the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The painting on the western wall is titled in recognition of Oslo's patron saint,

Hallvard Vebjørnsson Hallvard Vebjørnsson (''Hallvard Den Hellige'') ( 1020–1043), commonly referred to as Saint Hallvard (''Sankt Hallvard''), is the patron saint of Oslo. He is considered a martyr because of his defence of an innocent thrall woman. His religious ...

. The decorations of the City Hall were finished and uncovered in 1950. Rolfsen is best known for his fresco paintings. His principal works include the decoration of crematorium at Vestre gravlund in Oslo from 1932–37 and the Haugesund City Hall from 1952–54. He also decorated a number of churches including

Stiklestad Church Stiklestad Church ( no, Stiklestad kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Verdal municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Stiklestad. It is one of the churches for the Stiklestad parish which is part ...

Verdal Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Some villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklest ...

from 1929–30 and

Ullensaker Church Ullensaker Church is a church in Ullensaker, Norway, located southeast of Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. It is the fourth church that has been located almost there since the 12th century. The present church was built in concrete in 1958 and has been ...

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

from 1958. He is represented at the

National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery ( no, Nasjonalgalleriet) is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. , the admission cost is 100 Norwegian kroner. History It was establishe ...

in Oslo with several oil paintings including from 1926, from 1931 and from 1932. Among Rolfsen's book illustrations are an edition of Asbjørnsen and Moe's fairy tales and later editions of his father's readers. He also wrote books and articles on art and artists. Rolfsen was decorated Knight of the Swedish Order of the Polar Star in 1937 and Commander of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1955. He received the Prince Eugen Medal in 1951. During 1971, he received both the Arts Council Norway Honorary Award () and the St. Hallvard Medal ().

References

External links

Alf Rolfsen collection at the National Gallery, Oslo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolfsen, Alf 1895 births 1979 deaths Artists from Oslo Writers from Oslo Muralists 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the Prince Eugen Medal Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal 20th-century Norwegian male artists Norwegian expatriates in Denmark