Søren Onsager (6 October 1878 – 28 November 1946) was a Norwegian painter.
Onsager was born at
Holmestrand
is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Holmestrand Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality. It is located along the shore of the Ytre Oslofjord, about northwest of the Horten ...
in
Vestfold
Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...
, Norway. His parents were Martin Onsager (1849–1926) and Laura Dorothea Christensen (1858–1934). His father operated pharmacies in which he first apprenticed. However an Italian trip during 1897–1898 was the turning point in his life. Upon his return to Norway, he trained with
Harriet Backer
Harriet Backer (21 January 1845 – 25 March 1932) was a Norwegian painter who achieved recognition in her own time and was a pioneer among female artists both in the Nordic countries and in Europe generally. She is best known for her detailed ...
. After a year, she sent him to
Kristian Zahrtmann
Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Danish painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and Theodor Philipsen, ...
in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, where he was for two years. During the period from 1902 to 1910, he went to Paris to study with
Christian Krogh at
Colarossi Academy. In 1908, he first exhibited at the
Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Onsager was appointed professor at the
Oslo National Academy of the Arts
The Oslo National Academy of the Arts (, ''KHiO'') is a tertiary institution in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in Norway that teaches in v ...
during the
Nazi occupation of Norway
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the World War II, Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the Norwegian Campaign, German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi G ...
from 1940 to 1945. After the war, Onsager was indicted for treason, but he died in prison after a long illness before his case came up.
References
External links
1878 births
1946 deaths
People from Holmestrand
19th-century Norwegian painters
19th-century Norwegian male artists
20th-century Norwegian painters
Norwegian male painters
Members of Nasjonal Samling
Norwegian people who died in prison custody
Prisoners who died in Norwegian detention
20th-century male artists
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