''Woman in Montmartre'' (1891) Carl Johannes Andreas Adam Dørnberger (23 September 1864 - 8 July 1940) was a Norwegian painter. He principally performed naturalistic and figurative images.

Life and career

Carl Johannes Andreas Adam Dørnberger was born at

Nøtterøy Nøtterøy is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The admini ...

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He was the son of Johann Christopher Dörnberger from

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

and Augusta Charlotte Wilhelmine Luise Mönch from

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...

. His German-born father worked as master brewer in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

. When he was eight years old the family traveled back to Germany, where he lived until became a student of David Arnesen (1818-1895) and Johan Jacob Bennetter (1822-1904) in Christiania (now Oslo) at the age of seventeen. In 1883 he traveled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where he studied under several artists including

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

. He debuted at the

Høstutstillingen Høstutstillingen or Statens kunstutstilling ( English: ''The Autumn Exhibition'' or ''National Art Exhibition'') is an annual art exhibition in Oslo, Norway. The exhibition is Norway's largest marking of contemporary art and takes place each aut ...

in 1887, and had his first solo exhibition in 1900. That same year he married Lina Gurine Berg Isachen, and they had a daughter, Gro Franciska Dørnberger (born 1904). Dørnberger had many famous artists in his circle, including

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( ; ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work ''The Scream'' has become one of Western art's most acclaimed images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inher ...

and

Akseli Gallen-Kallela Akseli Gallen-Kallela (born Axel Waldemar Gallén; 26 April 1865 – 7 March 1931) was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the ''Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic poetry, epic. His work is considered a very importa ...

, who both painted portraits of him. Around 1896 he moved to the Norwegian port town of

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

where he lived for the remainder of his life in his home known as "Dørnbergerhuset". Many of Dørnberger's works are motifs from Son, including the historic buildings in the town center and the steamer jetty lying below his house. He remained largely naturalist while painting landscapes, portraits, figurative studies and nautical scenes. He was, for many, at least as well known for his eccentric lifestyle as for his art. In 1895 he acquired a wooden leg after breaking his leg which had to be amputated. He carried two pistols which he called "Kitty" and "Kitty's brother". In 1921 he shot an office manager in Hurum and wounded him. He was later acquitted by the court of law.

References

Other sources

*Bjørn Linnestad (1989) Carl Johannes Andreas Adam Dørnberger: Maler og musketér (Vestby kunstforening )

External links

Biographical notes
@ Lokal Magasinet
Dørnberger's days as a student in Paris
@ Lokal Magasinet {{DEFAULTSORT:Dornberger, Carl 1864 births 1940 deaths People from Vestfold 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Norwegian people of German descent 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian male artists