Wilhelm Otto Peters (17 August 1851 – 18 November 1935) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

painter who participated in the

Modern Breakthrough The Modern Breakthrough ( no, Det moderne gjennombrudd, da, Det moderne gennembrud, sv, Det moderna genombrottet) is the common name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the ...

in Nordic painting. He associated closely with the

Skagen Painters The Skagen Painters ( da, Skagensmalerne) were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scen ...

in the early 1880s and was one of the first to paint the fishermen in Brøndums store.

Early life

Born in Oslo, Peters studied drawing from 1867 to 1870 under David Arnesen and J.F. Eckersberg. Working as an illustrator, he came to the attention of Karl IV who made arrangements for him to study at the Royal Swedish Academy in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

from 1871 to 1873. He then went to Rome where he studied under Antonio Piccinni from 1873 to 1876, completing his studies in 1880 after periods in Munich and Paris."Wilhelm Peters"
''Storre norske leksikon''. Retrieved 17 October 2013.Elisabeth Fabritius, "Wilhelm Peters"
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 18 October 2013.

Career

Educated as a

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

painter inspired by Alma Tadema, he turned to folklore, exhibiting in Denmark. While in Paris in the late 1879s, he was attracted by French Naturalism. When he arrived in

Skagen Skagen () is Denmark's northernmost town, on the east coast of the Skagen Odde peninsula in the far north of Jutland, part of Frederikshavn Municipality in Nordjylland, north of Frederikshavn and northeast of Aalborg. The Port of Skagen is ...

in 1881, he had gained international experience from his travels to Germany, Rome and Paris and became a contributor to the

in Nordic painting. After meeting

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

Anna Ancher Anna Ancher (18 August 1859 – 15 April 1935) was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artist colony on the northern point of Jylland, Denmark. She is considered to be one of Denmark's greatest visual artists. Background Ann ...

during his first visit to Skagen, he returned in 1882 and 1883 when he associated with Christian Krogh, P.S. Krøyer and

Eilif Peterssen Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen (4 September 1852 – 29 December 1928) was a Norwegian painter. He is most commonly associated with his landscapes and portraits. Biography Hjalmar Eilif Emanuel Peterssen was born in Christiania, now Osl ...

. He was one of the first of the

to paint the fishermen in the inn, a theme which was later adopted by Michael Ancher and Krøyer. Peters was successful in having one of his paintings exhibited at Oslo's

Høstutstillingen Høstutstillingen or Statens kunstutstilling (English: ''The Autumn Exhibition'' or ''National Art Exhibition'') is an annual art exhibition in Oslo, Norway. The exhibition is Norway's largest marking of contemporary art and takes place each autum ...

(autumn exhibition) in 1882. In 1885, he became a head teacher at the

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design ( no, Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole) was established in 1818. In 1996 the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts The Oslo National Academy of the A ...

, a post he retained until 1923. In addition to his paintings and etchings, he created stained-glass windows including those in

St. Olav's Cathedral, Oslo St. Olav's Cathedral ( no, Sankt Olav domkirke) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo and the parish church of St. Olav's parish in Oslo, Norway. The cathedral has church services and masses in Norwegian and several other languages ...

Selected paintings

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Wilhelm 1851 births 1935 deaths 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Skagen Painters Artists from Oslo Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Norwegian expatriates in Italy Norwegian expatriates in France Norwegian expatriates in Germany Academic staff of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian male artists