Wilhelm Laurits Wetlesen (28 November 1871 – 15 June 1925) 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 ...

painter and illustrator. He was part of the circle around painter

Erik Werenskiold Erik Theodor Werenskiold (11 February 1855 – 23 November 1938) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. He is especially known for his drawings for the Asbjørnsen and Moe collection of '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', and his illustrations for ...

Biography

Wetlesen was born at

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

, Norway. He was the son of Christine Margrethe Christensen and her husband John Eliseus Sanne Wetlesen. He studied art 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 ...

(now

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 ...

) and in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. He later became a student at the painting school of

Kristian Zahrtmann Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Denmark, Danish Painting, painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and ...

, studying there in the years 1889, 1890, 1892 and 1894. Zahrtmann became his mentor, and eventually also a good friend. Zahrtmann and Wetlesen went on a total of three study trips to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Wetlesen also traveled 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 ...

with other painters, and he lived for long periods in the Italian cities of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. During this period, Wetlesen mostly painted Danish-inspired interior motifs and pictures of Florentine landscapes. He debuted at the Autumn Exhibition (''Høstutstillingen'' ) at

in 1892. In 1898, Erik Werenskiold recommended Wetlesen to replace

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 ...

, who had become ill, to take part in illustrating for the 1899 edition of the Old Norse saga ''

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...

'' of Snorri Sturluson. Wetlesen made 43 illustrations for the book, although his drawings have been considered to not convey the "saga atmosphere" as good as the other five illustrators. After 1900, Wetlesen painted Norwegian landscapes in various parts of the country, including 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 ...

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 ...

, and

. He also stayed at Lillehammer, where he especially worked with the artists Alf Lundeby,

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 Mun ...

and Frederik Collett. From 1908 he joined the painter colony in

Kviteseid Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseid. The parish ...

. At an early age, Wetlesen was struck with a debilitating heart condition, which combined with his artistic modesty and self-criticism probably contributed to that he did not fully live up to his expectations. His mentor Zahrtmann had also been concerned by his reported indolence. Wetlesen was nonetheless socially outgoing and a centre for his friends and the Norwegian art scene, and he took initiative to establish the artist association ''Kunstnerforbundet'' in 1910, and was the first chairman for the organisation from 1911 to 1912. Wetlesen died in Oslo in 1925.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wetlesen, Wilhelm 1871 births 1925 deaths People from Sandefjord 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Norwegian illustrators Norwegian expatriates in Italy 19th-century Norwegian male artists 20th-century Norwegian male artists