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Nils Nilsen Bergslien (26 February 1853 – 18 December 1928) was a Norwegian illustrator, painter and sculptor. Nils Berglien was inspired from the legends, the history of Norway and the west Norwegian mountain landscape. He was known for his national-romantic depictions of folk life and motifs from fairy tales and legends.
Over the years Bergslien was given a number of commissions. In 1886, he created the decorations to the tourist ship ''Britannia''; from 1899 to 1900 he decorated several rooms in the Hotel Café Boulevard Norway and Bergen (destroyed by fire 1916) and in the Tyssedal Hotel at
Galleri Nils Bergslien
1853 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Norwegian painters 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters 20th-century Norwegian sculptors 19th-century Norwegian sculptors 20th-century Norwegian male artists People from Voss People from Eidfjord {{norway-artist-stub
Nils Nilsen Bergslien (26 February 1853 – 18 December 1928) was a Norwegian illustrator, painter and sculptor. Nils Berglien was inspired from the legends, the history of Norway and the west Norwegian mountain landscape. He was known for his national-romantic depictions of folk life and motifs from fairy tales and legends.
Personal life
Bergslien was born inVoss
Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...
in Hordaland
Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...
county, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. He was a son of Nils Larsen Bergslien and Sigvor Nilsdatter. His uncles were painter and artist 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 ...
and sculptor Brynjulf Bergslien
Brynjulf Larsen Bergslien (12 November 1830 – 19 September 1898) was a noted Norwegian sculptor.
Background
Bergslien was born in Voss in Hordaland county, Norway. He was a son of Lars Bergeson Bergslien and Kirsten Knutsdotter Gjelle. He was ...
. He was married to Johanna Jacobsdatter Møkletun (1853-1921). The couple settled in Eidfjord
Eidfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Eidfjord, where the majority of the municipal populatio ...
. He died in Eidfjord in 1928.
Career
Nils Bergslien was educated by his uncle Knud Bergslien and landscape painterMorten Müller
Morten Müller (13 February 1828 – 10 February 1911) was a Norway, Norwegian Landscape painting, landscape painter.
Biography
Morten Müller was born by the Oslofjord, Christianiafjord at Holmestrand, in Vestfold County, Norway. Morten Müll ...
(1828-1911). He attended Morten Müller's art school in Kristiania
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 ...
from 1871 to 1872, 1873 and accompanied his uncle on a study trip to Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. From 1876 to 1879, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, ...
under Otto Seitz
Otto Seitz, was a 19th-century German painter; born 3 September 1846 in Munich. As a professor with the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, he was the mentor of many major artists.
Works
His primary subjects were genre scenes, floral still life and ...
(1846-1912). During 1874 or 1875, he undertook a study tour in Telemark
Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
with Gerhard Munthe
Gerhard Peter Frantz Munthe (19 July 1849 in Elverum, Hedmark – 15 January 1929 in Lysaker, Bærum) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator.
Background
Munthe was born in Elverum to physician Christopher Pavels Munthe (1816–1884) and his wif ...
and 1880, he traveled with the sculptor Axel Ender
Axel Hjalmar Ender (14 September 1853- 10 September 1920) was a Norwegian painter and sculptor, remembered primarily for his genre painting .
Biography
Ender was born to a farming family at Asker in Akershus, Norway. He began his art studies f ...
and Danish poet Holger Drachmann
Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann (9 October 1846 – 14 January 1908) was a Danish poet, dramatist and painter. He was a member of the Skagen artistic colony and became a figure of the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough Movement.
Early yea ...
over the Hardangervidda
Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ye ...
mountain plateau.
Nils Bergslien was known for his illustrations of folk life, his puck pictures, and for motives from legends and fairytales. His series ''Nissealbum'' was published in 1886. He decorated several hotel rooms and churches. He made caricature illustrations and designed the title vignette
Vignette may refer to:
* Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy
* Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters
* Vignette (literature), short, i ...
of the satirical magazine ''Vikingen
''Vikingen'' (meaning ''The Viking'' in English) is a former Norwegian satirical magazine, published from 1862 to 1947. Among the contributors were the satirical illustrators Olaf Krohn, Andreas Bloch, Gustav Lærum and Olaf Gulbransson.
Histo ...
''. He designed a memorial of fiddler Ola Mosafinn
Ola Mosafinn (14 July 1828 – 28 December 1912) was a Norwegian Hardanger fiddle player and composer. Mosafinn is regarded among the more important fiddlers in Norway in the late 19th century.
Ola Sjursson was born in Voss in Hordaland Count ...
, the bronze relief ''Ridande Vossabrudlaup''.
Over the years Bergslien was given a number of commissions. In 1886, he created the decorations to the tourist ship ''Britannia''; from 1899 to 1900 he decorated several rooms in the Hotel Café Boulevard Norway and Bergen (destroyed by fire 1916) and in the Tyssedal Hotel at Odda
Odda () is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It was located in southeastern Hordaland c ...
and later he made the national romantic decorations for the dining room in the Hotel Vøringfoss in Eidfjord
Eidfjord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Eidfjord, where the majority of the municipal populatio ...
.
At the Bergslien Park in Voss
Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...
are monuments honoring the three Bergslien artists, Brynjulf, Knud and Nils. The Nils Bergslien Gallery (''Galleri Nils Bergslien'') was established by Eidfjord municipality which owns and operates the gallery. It contains original work by Nils Berglien.
References
Other sources
*Warberg, Thor (2008) ''Bergslien-målarane : folkeliv i fargar'' (Førde : Selja forl.)External links
Galleri Nils Bergslien
1853 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Norwegian painters 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters 20th-century Norwegian sculptors 19th-century Norwegian sculptors 20th-century Norwegian male artists People from Voss People from Eidfjord {{norway-artist-stub