Elias Fiigenschoug (c. 1600 – c. 1660) was a 17th-century Norwegian

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

portrait and landscape painter.

Biography

Fiigenschoug worked in Bergen, Norway from about 1640 to 1660. He signed most of his work with characteristic ''EF''. His oldest signed work is dated 1641, the last in 1657. Fiigenschoug had contact with artist circles in Amsterdam and was most probably educated in the Netherlands. In portraits he was primarily influenced by Dutch portraiture, in a sober style, with certain personal characteristics and a refined technique. He painted a number of portraits featuring clergymen, merchants and civil leaders. In addition to portraits, he performed religious motives, both epitaphs and paintings for church

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

s with biblical motifs. His work appears in

Ølve Church Ølve Church ( no, Ølve kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kvinnherad Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ølve. It is the church for the Ølve parish which is part of the Sunnhordland prost ...

in Sunnhordland (1644), at

Voss Church Voss Church ( no, Voss kyrkje, , or ) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Voss Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Vossevangen. It is the church for the Voss parish which is part of the Hardanger og V ...

(1642) and at

Skjerstad Church Skjerstad Church ( no, Skjerstad kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bodø Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Skjerstad, along Skjerstadfjorden. It is one of two churches for the ''Misvær og ...

in Salten (1651-1652). He completed three major epitaphs at St Mary's Church in Bergen (1643). His painting of

Halsnøy Abbey Halsnøy Abbey (''Halsnøy kloster'') was a house of Augustinian Canons located on the island of Halsnøy on the Hardangerfjord at Kvinnherad in Vestland, Norway. History Halsnøy Abbey was one of the richest monasteries in medieval era Norway. ...

on the island of

Halsnøy Halsnøya or Halsnøy is an island in Kvinnherad municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies between the Hardangerfjorden and Skånevikfjorden. The island has about 2,300 inhabitants (2008) and it is the most populated island in Kv ...

from 1656 is regarded as the first Norwegian landscape painting.

Personal life

Fiigenschoug was married to Anna Christensdatter Bloch (1620–1689), daughter of bailiff Christen Jenssøn Bloch and Berethe Andersdatter Benkestok.

References

External links

Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 17th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Norwegian portrait painters Norwegian landscape painters Baroque painters {{norway-painter-stub