Betzy Rezora Akersloot-Berg (16 December 1850 – 18 December 1922) was a Norwegian-born seascape and landscape painter who spent most of her career on the Dutch island of Vlieland in

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

Biography

She was born in the village of

Aurskog Aurskog is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre was Aursmoen Aursmoen is a village in the municipality of Aurskog-Høland, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries ...

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 ...

, Norway. Her parents, Casper Cristiansen Berg (1828-1914) and Bartha Nordbye (1829-1912) were landowners. Later, they moved to Christiania (now Oslo) where her father became a businessman. Originally, she trained as a nurse, then worked as a combination nurse and missionary among the Sami in

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

. However, she found herself attracted to painting and ultimately decided to take lessons at the

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design ( no, Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole) was established in 1818. In 1996 the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the A ...

(''Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole''), where she studied with

Wilhelm von Hanno Andreas Friedrich Wilhelm von Hanno (15 December 1826 – 12 December 1882) was a German-born Norwegian architect, sculptor and painter. He was among the leading architects in Norway during the middle of the 1800s. Biography Wilhelm von Hanno ...

and

Frits Thaulow Frits Thaulow (20 October 1847 – 5 November 1906) was a Norwegian Impressionist painter, best known for his naturalistic depictions of landscape. Biography Johan Frederik Thaulow was born in Christiania, the son of a wealthy chemist, Haral ...

. Later, she worked with Otto Sinding and followed him when he moved to

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 Germany.Tone Skedsmo
Betzy Akersloot-Berg
Norsk Kunstnerleksikon During a trip to Vienna, she saw some works by the Dutch marine painter,

Hendrik Willem Mesdag Hendrik Willem Mesdag (23 February 1831 – 10 July 1915) was a Dutch marine painter. Biography He was born in Groningen, the son of the banker Klaas Mesdag and his wife Johanna Wilhelmina van Giffen. Mesdag was encouraged by his father ...

, which greatly impressed her. In 1885, she had a chance meeting with him and his family. This led to studies with him at his workshop in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. She became close friends with his wife, Sientje van Houten, who painted a portrait of her. In 1890, she studied briefly with

Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beau ...

in Paris. Through them, she met Gooswinus Gerardus Akersloot (1843-1929), the former mayor of Hoevelaken, who had recently lost his wife. They were married in 1893. Three years later, they settled in

Oost-Vlieland Oost-Vlieland ( fry, East-Flylân) is the only village on the island of Vlieland in the province Friesland of the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,020 in January 2017.Cornelis Tromp Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, ''Count of Sølvesborg'' (3 September 1629 – 29 May 1691) was a Dutch naval officer who served as lieutenant-admiral general in the Dutch Navy, and briefly as a general admiral in the Royal Danish Navy. Tromp ...

. Although isolated, she travelled every summer and was able to participate in exhibitions throughout Europe. She traveled to the coast of Norway as well as to other European coastal communities to paint coastal landscapes. In addition to painting, she ran a

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

and a sewing society for girls. She remained there until her death in 1922. "Tromp's Huys" became a museum in 1956. Most of her approximately 300 works are kept there and sent out for exhibits, including a major retrospective at the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum in 1992. They were also shown at a special exhibition in Aurskog (1996), and another at the in Honningsvåg, near the place where she worked with the Sami (2004).

Selected paintings

File:Kustlandschap Noorwegen Betzy Rezora Berg (1850-1922).jpg, Coastal Landscape in Norway File:Akersloot-Berg-Cemetery.jpg, Cemetery with Whalebone Grave Markers File:Akersloot-Berg-Vlieland.jpg, Oost-Vlieland File:Lofoten Betzy Rezora Berg (1850-1922).png,

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...

References

External links

Museum Tromp's Huys Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akersloot-Berg, Betzy 1850 births 1922 deaths Norwegian landscape painters Norwegian marine artists Norwegian women painters Dutch landscape painters Dutch marine artists Dutch women painters People from Aurskog-Høland Norwegian expatriates in Germany Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian emigrants to the Netherlands

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links