Kitty Lange Kielland (8 October 1843 – 1 October 1914) was a Norwegian landscape painter.

Early life and training

Kielland was born to an affluent family in Stavanger, the older sister of

Alexander Kielland Alexander Lange Kielland (; 18 February 1849 – 6 April 1906) was a Norwegian realistic writer of the 19th century. He is one of the so-called " The Four Greats" of Norwegian literature, along with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson a ...

. Kielland's interactions with her brother were important in her development as an artist. Although she received some training in drawing and painting, it was not until she turned thirty that she was allowed to train as a professional artist. In 1873 she traveled to

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

where she was trained by

Hans Gude Hans Fredrik Gude (March 13, 1825August 17, 1903) was a Norwegian romanticist painter and is considered along with Johan Christian Dahl to be one of Norway's foremost landscape painters. He has been called a mainstay of Norwegian National Roma ...

. As a woman Kielland was forced to take private lessons from Gude instead of joining his landscape painting class. Gude's adherence to realism left a lasting impression on Kielland that was visible in her later works. Kielland made rapid progress during the two years she spent training with Gude.

Munich

Kielland left Karlsruhe for

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in 1875 where she joined a colony of Norwegian artists living there. In Munich she studied with French-inspired realist Hermann Baisch, and with Norwegian

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 ...

whom some consider to be her most important teacher. Kielland lived in Munich until 1878. She then moved to Paris, where she continued painting daily. Kitty Kielland - Summer Night - Google Art Project

Kitty Kielland - Summer Night - Google Art Project

Jæren

In 1876 Kielland visited

Jæren Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the large ...

in southern Norway. Kielland's former teacher Hans Gude had visited Jæren in 1869 and 1872 and upon his return had suggested to her that she should travel there and paint it. Kielland prepared studies while she was in Jæren and later used these to paint the characteristically flat landscape when she returned to Munich, making her the first artist to do so. Her painting of Jæren shows a realistic depiction of the landscape, but with unifying atmospheric effects. Kielland returned to Jæren regularly during the summers, and so the monotonous landscape and

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s of the area became one of her favorite motifs. Kielland said that she was so interested in the area around Jæren because of "the grandeur of the landscape and the wealth of poverty". The skill with which the landscape was executed marks her as one of Gude's most outstanding students.

Paris

In 1879 Kielland moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where she shared a studio with fellow Norwegian

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 ...

from 1880-88.Maria Helleberg ''Martha, Marie og Anna''. Lindhardt og Ringhof, 2016 (Danish) In Paris she exhibited her paintings for the first time. Kielland was briefly a pupil of the landscape painter

Léon Germain Pelouse Léon Germain Pelouse (1 October 1838 – 31 July 1891) was a self-taught French painter born in Pierrelaye (Val-d'Oise, France). At sixteen, he began working as a traveling salesman. He began painting when he was twenty, as he was serving in ...

who lived in nearby Cernay-la-Ville. Kielland left Paris in 1889, a portrait of her painted by

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 An ...

shortly before her departure can be found in

Anchers Hus Anchers Hus is an art museum and gallery situated in the former residence of the painters Michael and Anna Ancher in Skagen, Denmark. Anchers Hus is located on Markvej in Skagen, Denmark. History Michael Ancher (1849-1927) and Anna Ancher (18 ...

Later life and death

Kielland worked on simplifying her art in the 1890s under the influence of

Jens Ferdinand Willumsen Jens Ferdinand Willumsen (7 September 1863 – 4 April 1958) was a Danish painter, sculptor, graphic artist, architect and photographer. He became associated with the movements of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography J. F. Willumsen was bor ...

. She participated eagerly in public debates regarding

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. Kielland exhibited her work at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...

at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

in Chicago, Illinois. Kielland painted little towards the end of her life. She suffered from senile dementia for several years, and finally died 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 ...

in 1914. A street in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

, a suburb west of

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 ...

, is named for her.

Selected works

Image:Kitty Kielland-Kystlandskap.jpg, ''Kystlandskap'', 1878 File:Kielland-Parisinteriør.jpg, ''Paris apartment'', 1881 File:Kitty Lange Interior.jpg, ''Interior'', 1883 Image:Kielland-Efter solnedgang.jpg, ''Efter solnedgang'', 1885 Image:Kitty Lange Kielland--Peat Bogs on Jæren--1882.jpg, ''Peat Bogs on Jæren'', 1882 File:Tourbière à Jæren.jpg, Tourbière à Jæren, 1897 File:Kielland-Blått interiør.jpg, ''Blått interiør'' File:Kielland-Fra Jæren 1878.jpg, Kielland-Fra Jæren 1878

References

External links

Norwegian & American Women of Distinction: Kitty Kielland

images of Kitty Kielland's painting on The Athenaeum

Kitty Kielland on askART

A Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Painting 1840-1910 Kitty Lange Kielland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kielland, Kitty Lange 1843 births 1914 deaths Norwegian landscape painters Realist painters 19th-century Norwegian people 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters 19th-century Norwegian women artists 20th-century Norwegian women artists Norwegian women painters Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people