Johannes "Johs" Rian (17 May 1891 – 10 December 1981) was a Norwegian painter. Johs Rian was born in Overhalla in

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

, Norway. He was a son of farmers Peter Rian (1856–1934) and Elen Blengslien (1864–1952). He also worked at the family farm, but left this career in 1927 to pursue painting. He studied at the

Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts The Norwegian National Academy of Arts ( no, Statens kunstakademi) is a Norwegian Academy offering studies in the area of Fine Art. The Academy currently offers 3-year bachelor and 2-year MA programmes. The "Norwegian National Academy of the Arts" ...

from 1928 to 1930 under Axel Revold. He was also inspired by Henrik Sørensen, and Revold's teacher

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

. In 1936 he married his secretary Ellen Gjønnæs (1903–1961). In 1950, Rian was provided with a Thomas Fearnley Memorial Scholarship and traveled to the south of France. Rian exhibited at the contemporary art gallery Kunstnerforbundet in Oslo several times between 1930 and 1957, and also at the São Paulo Biennal in 1967/68. From 1960 he mainly exhibited at Galleri Haaken in

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 ...

. He also started painting nonfigurative art. The

Norwegian Museum of Contemporary Art The Norwegian Museum of Contemporary Art ( no, Museet for samtidskunst) is a museum in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003, it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History The Norwegian Museum of Contemporary A ...

owns eight of his paintings. He was decorated with the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1978 and died in 1981 at Oslo.

Selected works

* ''Pike med katt'', 1932 * ''Lekselesing'', 1946 * ''Dame med sort katt'', 1946 * ''Côte d'Azur'', 1950 * ''Rødt interiør'', 1950 * ''Damen med celloen'', 1950 * ''Blått atelier'', 1953 * ''Nonnespeilet'', 1961 * ''Dekorasjon'', 1966 * ''Former på blå bunn'', 1967

References

1891 births 1981 deaths People from Overhalla Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters 20th-century Norwegian male artists {{Norway-painter-stub