Amaldus Clarin Nielsen (23 May 1838 – 10 December 1932) was a Norwegian painter.

Early life

He was born in Halse as a son of shipmaster and merchant Niels Clemetsen Nielsen (1795–1845) and his wife Andrea Marie Møller (1802–1866). He grew up in

Mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

in Vest-Agder county, Norway. He lived most of his childhood and adolescence without a father. He received some tuition from a traveling drawing teacher and traveled to

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 ...

to study in 1854.

Career

After one year of painting studies in Copenhagen, he enrolled at the Academy of Art in 1855. He failed to progress in the academy's system, but with financial support from his brother and business owner

Diderik Cappelen Diderik or Didrik is a Norwegian male given name. In North Germanic languages, the native form would be ''Tjodrik'', but ''Diderik'' and ''Didrik'' have been loaned from Low German and are now a common name in Norway. It may also be a variant of t ...

(1856–1935), he studied under

Hans Gude Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Roma ...

at the Düsseldorf Academy from 1857 to 1859. He spent the years 1859 to 1863 travelling over

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Southern Norway Southern Norway ( no, Sørlandet; lit. "The Southland") is the geographical region (''landsdel'') along the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway. The region is an informal description since it does not have any governmental function. It roughl ...

, and spent 1863 to 1864 in Düsseldorf again. He is associated with the

Düsseldorf school of painting The Düsseldorf school of painting is a term referring to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy (now the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or Düsseldorf State Art Academy) during the 1830s and 1840s, when the A ...

. He then travelled home due to illness, moved to Christiania where he sealed a deal to make paintings that the Christiania Kunstforening would sell at auctions, securing a steady income. He spent the years 1867 to 1868 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

before finally settling at

Majorstuen Majorstuen is a particularly affluent neighbourhood in the Frogner borough in the inner part of Oslo, Norway. Majorstuen is known for its vibrant downtown and especially its shopping area. The area has several elegant townhouses c. 1880–1890. T ...

in 1869. He painted in the naturalist style, and has been called "Norway's first naturalist painter". Important paintings include ''Hvalørhei'' (1874), ''Skovbillede'' (1896), ''Morgen ved Ny-Hellesund'' (1885, one of several from

Ny-Hellesund Ny-Hellesund is a village area and outport in Kristiansand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village area is located on a cluster of three main islands about south of the main harbour at Høllen. The three islands are Monsøya, Helgøya, ...

), ''Ensomt sted'' (1901), ''Fra Bankefjorden'' (1910) and ''Kveld på Jæren'' (1925) Most of his paintings portrayed Western and Southern Norway, but also

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

. He participated almost annually in the Autumn Exhibit between 1883 and 1911, and held notable exhibitions in Christiania Kunstforening (1895, 1906, 1924, 1931), at the

1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...

, the Exposition Universelle of 1889 and in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in 1913. Eleven of his works are owned by the

National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. He is also represented in Mandal Kunstforening and Mandal Bymuseum, but is perhaps best known for the collection of about 300 works which was donated to Oslo municipality by Nielsen's heirs in 1933. Since 1994 this collection is on permanent exhibit in the

Stenersen Museum The Stenersen Museum ( no, Stenersenmuseet) is a Museum of Fine Arts located in Oslo, Norway. Stenersen Museum opened in 1994. It principally features exhibitions of contemporary art. The museum art exhibited originated with three private art co ...

. Nielsen was also decorated as a Knight, First Class 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 1890. The square ''Amaldus Nielsens plass'', which includes a

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places *Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazine ...

of Nielsen, was named after him.

Personal life

In October 1868 in Christiania he married Johanne Nicoline Augusta Vangensteen, born 1845 as a daughter of district stipendiary magistrate Ove Bodvar Hussein Vangensteen (1806–1859). The couple had eleven children. Both his wife and three children died in March 1886 from a

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

epidemic. After a period of grief, he married Laura Tandberg (1857–1928) in February 1888 in

Risør is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located on the Skagerrak coast in the traditional region of Sørlandet. The administrative centre of Risør municipality is the town of Risør. There are many villages in Risør such as Akland, ...

. Nielsen died in December 1932, aged 94, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Gallery

File:Amaldus Nielsen Morgen Ny Hellesund.jpg, ''Morning at

'' (1885) File:Amaldus Nielsen - Fjordparti (1890).jpg, ''View of a Fjord''
(1890) File:Amaldus Nielsen - Mennesker på en strand (1894).jpg, ''People on the Beach'' (1894) File:Amaldus Nielsen-Aften ved Frederiksstad.jpg, ''Evening at

Frederiksstad Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider River, Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum, Germany, Husum. History The town was founded in ...

''
(1909)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Amaldus 1838 births 1932 deaths 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters People from Mandal, Norway Norwegian expatriates in Denmark Norwegian expatriates in Germany Artists from Oslo Deaths from pneumonia in Norway 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian male artists Düsseldorf school of painting