Vågåsommeren or the Vågå Summer was a Norwegian artists' collective which came together in

Vågå Vågå () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vågåmo. Other village areas in Vågå include Lalm and Besshei ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, in 1894. It consisted of ten painters, all of whom had spent the previous year studying art at

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 ...

's 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 ...

(today's Oslo). They were looking for a more relaxed approach to painting than the strict, clear-cut

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

of the times.

Kristen Holbø Kristen Holbø (13 September 1869 – 19 October 1953) was a Norway, Norwegian Painting, painter and illustrator, most noted for his landscapes. Biography He was born on Sygard Holbø in Vågå in Oppland county, Norway. He studied under Knud Be ...

, together with his good friend and fellow student

Halfdan Egedius Halfdan Egedius (May 5, 1877 – February 2, 1899) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Biography Halfdan Johnsen Egedius was born in Drammen in Buskerud county and grew up in Christiania (now Oslo). His interest in painting and illustratio ...

, both from Vågå, invited their fellow students to spend the summer in the area. The men, including

Thorvald Erichsen Thorvald Erichsen (18 July 1868 - 23 December 1939) was a Norwegian Post-Impressionist painter; known primarily for landscapes and still-lifes. Biography Thorvald Erichsen was born at Trondheim, Norway. He was the son of Ernst Erichsen (1820-1 ...

Alfred Hauge Alfred Hauge (17 October 1915 – 31 October 1986) was a Norwegian educator, journalist, novelist, poet and historian. He wrote extensively about life on the Ryfylke islands and about Norwegian-American emigration. Biography Hauge was born ...

Lars Jorde Lars Jorde (22 May 1865 – 25 September 1939) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Biography He was born at Vang in Hedmark, Norway. He entered the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in 1889. He studied under Gerhard Munt ...

and

Oluf Wold-Torne Oluf Wold-Torne (7 November 1867 – 19 March 1919) was a Norwegian painter, illustrator, educator and designer. He was known primarily for landscapes and still-lifes and was influenced by Cézanne. Biography He was born in Son (now Vestby), Nor ...

, stayed with Holbø in his house on the Holbø estate while the four women, Johanna Bugge Berge, Lalla Hvalstad, Alice Pihl and

Kris Torne Kristine (Kris) Torne née Laache (1867–1946) was a Norwegian painter and textile artist. In 1894, she was one of ten artists who participated in the Vågåsommeren artists' colony in Vågå, Innlandet, Innlandet County. After painting landscape ...

were accommodated in Sygard Storvik, a large two-story house in Sjårdalen which belonged to Egedius' father. The get-together started in May and lasted until September. It was remembered not just for the considerable efforts devoted to painting but as a social success for all concerned. The artists concentrated on mood paintings, often creating landscapes in the summer evenings, with darker colours and a more simplified style than they had been taught at art school. Despite the rather rainy summer, the event was thought to have been a huge success, resulting in many fine paintings. They were exhibited in September in the local school, while several of the artists returned to Kristiania with works in the newly developed style. The gathering later became known as Vågåsommeren or the Vågå Summer.

References

{{Reflist Artist colonies 19th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian art Norwegian artists groups and collectives Vågå