Cecilie Dahl (1858–1943) was a Norwegian artist who painted portraits,

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

s and landscapes. From the early 1880s, she exhibited at the

Oslo Kunstforening ] Oslo Kunstforening is a contemporary art gallery and art society located in Oslo, Norway. History Oslo Kunstforening is located at ''Rådhusgata 19''. The gallery, situated in one of the oldest houses in the Kvadraturen area, is the oldest art ...

and in 1888 presented a work inspired by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

'' at the Nordic Exhibition in Copenhagen. Her best works are those of women and children from the mid-1890s, characterized by a soft, rather melancholy atmosphere. She was inspired by evening scenes, as in ''Augustkveld, Hakadal'' in the collection of the Norwegian

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

Early life and education

Born in the Vestre Akter district of

Oslo 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 ...

(then known as Kristiania) on 26 March 1858, Cecilie Dahl was the daughter of the physician Ludvig Wilhelm Dahl (1826–1890) and Anna Cathrine Lyders née Bonnevie (1835–1893). The second of 11 children, her siblings included Nils Alstrup Dahl (1876–1940) and Ingerid Dahl (1861–1944) who both also became painters. After studying under

Amaldus Nielsen 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 gr ...

Knud Bergslien Knud Larsen Bergslien (15 May 1827 – 27 November 1908) was a Norwegian painter, art teacher and master artist. In his art, he frequently portrayed the lives of the Norwegian people, their history and heroes of the past. Bergslien is most associ ...

's art school in 1880, she was trained by

Karl Gussow Karl Gussow (25 February 1843, Havelberg – 27 March 1907, Munich) was a German painter and university professor. Life and work His early inclination to art was encouraged by his family so, as soon as he completed his secondary schooling, he wa ...

in Berlin (c. 1881–1882). Later, she attended the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

in Paris where she studied under the naturalist

Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (7 January 1852 – 3 July 1929), was one of the leading French artists of the naturalist school. Biography He was born in Paris, the son of a tailor, and was raised by his grandfather after his father ...

(1886–1887). In 1888, she was a student of the Norwegian

Eilif Peterssen Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen (4 September 1852 – 29 December 1928) was a Norwegian painter. He is most commonly associated with his landscapes and portraits. Biography Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen was born in Christiania, now Osl ...

and while in Denmark from 1896 to 1900, she studied under

Johan Rohde Johan Gudmann Rohde (1 November 1856 – 18 February 1935) was a Danish painter, lithographer and designer. He was the principal founder of Den Frie Udstilling, established in 1891 to allow artists to exhibit works which did not fall within the Ac ...

and G.F. Clement.

Career

Her early portraits from 1877 of her sister, the author Anna Munch, and of Munch with her two small siblings are typical of Dahl's dreamy depiction of her subjects. She exhibited from the early 1880s at the Oslo Kunstforening, becoming a frequent exhibitor at the autumn shows. Among her finest works are those of women and children in the 1880s, including ''Dame i ridedrakt'' (Woman in Riding Attire, 1884) and a portrait of the opera singer

Eva Sars Eva Helene Nansen (née Sars; 17 December 1858 – 9 December 1907) was a celebrated Norwegian mezzo-soprano singer. She was also a pioneer of women's skiing. Personal life Born in Oslo, Christiania (now Oslo), she was a daughter of priest and p ...

(1886). In 1888, a work inspired by

's ''

'' which was selected for the Nordic Exhibition in Copenhagen was considered too sentimental by one of the critics. She turned from painting to writing at the end of the 1880s, publishing ''Bag Kulissene'' (Behind the Scenes), a collection of three short stories in 1890. In 1892, inspired by

Carl Bloch Carl Heinrich Bloch (23 May 1834 – 22 February 1890) was a Danish artist. Biography He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and studied there at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi'') under Wilhelm Marstrand ...

's painting ''Trøsteren'' (The Comforter), she created the altar painting for Eid Church in

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

. Her later works consist principally of landscapes from the east of Norway, often including children. She painted several scenes of summer evenings, including the colourful ''Augustkveld, Hakadal'' in the collection of Norway's National Gallery. In addition to collective and solo exhibitions in Norway, her works have been presented in Copenhagen (1888), Stockholm (1904), Brighton (1913),

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fif ...

(1928) and Riga (1934). Cecilie Dahl died in Oslo on 5 August 1943. A retrospective exhibition of her work was held the same year by the Oslo Kunstforening.

References

External links

Summary biographical details and selected works from DigitaltMuseumBiography of Cecilie Dahl
from lokalhistoriewiki.no (in Norwegian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahl, Cecilie 1858 births 1943 deaths Artists from Oslo 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian short story writers Norwegian women writers Norwegian women painters