Henrik Sørensen (12 February 1882 – 24 February 1962) was a Norwegian painter.

Personal life

Sørensen was born in Fryksände in Sweden as a son of Severin Sørensen and Helene Høibraaten. He was married to Gudrun Klewe, and is father of physicist Sven Oluf Sørensen. He was a brother-in-law of composer

Halfdan Cleve Halfdan Cleve born Halfdan Klewe (5 October 1879 – 6 April 1951) was a Norwegian composer, and father or the pianist and composer Cissi Cleve. Biography Cleve was born and raised in Kongsberg, Norway. He lived some time in Germany. Some examp ...

Painting career

Sørensen studied drawing at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in Kristiania in 1904 and from 1906 to 1908. He studied with

Kristian Zahrtmann Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Denmark, Danish Painting, painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and ...

in Copenhagen from 1904 to 1905, and became fascinated by the French impressionists while studying at the art school

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 during the autumn of 1905. He studied painting with Henri Matisse in Paris from 1908 to 1910. His breakthrough was the painting ''Svartbækken'' from 1908. His painting ''Varietéartist'' from 1910 caused big headlines, and was bought by the Swedish painter and art collector

Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

. He is represented in the National Gallery with several paintings, as well as in other Scandinavian museums, and has decorated a large wall at the

Oslo City Hall Oslo City Hall ( no, Oslo rådhus) is a municipal building in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It houses the city council, the city's administration and various other municipal organisations. The building as it stands today was constructed between ...

. In 1939 the Government of Norway donated his iconic wall painting " The Dream of Peace" in today the Library of the United Nations Office Geneva to the League of Nations. He illustrated books by Jørgen Moe, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson,

Ragnhild Jølsen Ragnhild Theodora Jølsen (28 March 1875 – 28 January 1908) was a Norwegian author. Norwegian oral traditions were a recurring theme in her works. Her writings often focused on the conflict between the old rural society and modern industrial soc ...

and Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, and painted portraits of the writers

Ingeborg Refling Hagen Ingeborg Refling Hagen (19 December 1895 – 30 October 1989) was a Norwegian author, poet, and artistic director. Her writings and activities in support of the arts made her a significant cultural figure in Norway during much of the 20th century. ...

(1932) and

Sigurd Christiansen Sigurd Christiansen (17 November 1891 – 23 October 1947) was a Norwegian novelist and playwright. He made his literary debut with the novel ''Seieren'' in 1915. His literary breakthrough was the trilogy ''Indgangen'' (1925), ''Sverdene'' (1927 ...

(1936). His painting ''Jødene (Israels folk)'' is from 1943. A painting by Sørensen was used on Norwegian 10 kroner notes from 1954 to 1973. He has painted

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 to the

Linköping Cathedral Linköping Cathedral ( sv, Linköpings domkyrka) is an active Lutheran church in the Swedish city of Linköping, the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Linköping in the Church of Sweden. One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, it is situat ...

and the Hamar Cathedral. During World War II he was held at the Grini concentration camp for one week, January–February 1945. He was a member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights.

Legacy

In 1968 a memorial of Sørensen, made by sculptor

Ragnhild Butenschøn Ragnhild Butenschøn, née Jakhelln (21 September 1912 – 3 September 1992) was a Norwegian sculptor. She was especially known for her church art. Personal life She was born in Oslo, Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, She was a daughter of major Al ...

, was raised in Lillestrøm. Galleries with works by Sørensen were later raised at two of his favourite painting locations, ''

Holmsbu Holmsbu is a small village located in Viken, Norway. Holmsbu is situated in the municipality of Asker on the west side of the peninsula of Hurumlandet on Drammensfjord. The village had 309 residents as of 1 January 2014. The seaport village was ...

Billedgalleri'' in 1973, and '' Vinje Biletgalleri'' in Smørklepp in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soerensen, Henrik 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Académie Colarossi alumni People from Värmland 1882 births 1962 deaths Grini concentration camp survivors Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people 20th-century Norwegian male artists Swedish emigrants to Norway