Martin Enevold Thømt (June 8, 1878 – June 21, 1958) 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 ...
decorative painter.
[''Norsk kunstnerleksikon'': Enevold Thømt.](_blank)
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Life and work
Thømt was born in Askim
Askim () is a town and a former municipality in (from January 1, 2020) Indre Østfold Kommune in the former county of Østfold county (from January 1, 2020 a part of Viken county), Norway.
The administrative centre of the Askim municipality wa ...
,[Waterloo Normannsen, Sølvi. 2010. Klart for nye blikk på gamle skatter. ''UA'' (September 6).] the son of Karl P. Thømt and Julie Nygaard Thømt. He was responsible for decorating many Norwegian churches. Thømt specialized in decorative frescoes that were often inspired by Norwegian folk art, but the colors in Thømt's frescoes were usually far more subdued and the number of colors more limited than seen in folk art.
He was apprenticed to the decorative painter Wilhelm Krogh in Oslo from 1897 to 1900. From 1900 to 1903 he studied 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 ...
in 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 of ...
under Oscar Wergeland, Wilhelm Krogh, Asmund Stray, and Eivind Nielsen. In 1903 he studied at the Royal and Imperial State Trade School in Vienna, and around 1907 he spent time studying in Finland and Denmark. He also made many study trips to other European countries.
Thømt was awarded a scholarship from the Houen Fund for artistic decorative painting three times. In 1903, he received the state artisans' scholarship. He married Inga Kristin Jødahl in 1906.
He worked as a decorative painter in Oslo from 1910 onward and had his own studio for stained glass and electric glass making. He founded and headed the School of Norwegian Ornamental Art ( no, Skolen for norsk prydkunst) and was also teacher for some time at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry. In Oslo he carried out many church ornamentation projects, including at Saint Mark's Church, Kampen Church, and Bekkelaget Church—his own parish church. Around 1915 he was commissioned to decorate the Main Building of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
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 ...
at Gløshaugen
Gløshaugen is a neighborhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Lerkendal, approximately southeast of Midtbyen, the downtown center of Trondheim. It is situated east of the neighborhood of El ...
in Trondheim. He also decorated private homes in Oslo and Trondheim, but the largest share of his works were frescoes and stained glass in various churches. The decoration of Ålesund Church
Ålesund Church ( no, Ålesund kyrkje) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Ålesund Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the center of the town of Ålesund, on the island of Aspøya. It is one of two chur ...
is considered one of his major accomplishments. The first part of this project, the brown and yellow frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
in the chancel, was completed in 1918. The frescoes on the chancel vault itself and the west wall were executed between 1918 and 1928, and stylistically blend Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
with Arts and Crafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
. In 1938 he started working on the stained glass in the large windows in the church's nave. These were installed in 1946.
Thømt died in 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 of ...
.
Examples of Thømt's work
File:Mural 2 Martin Enevold Thømt.JPG, Main Building, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
File:Mural Martin Enevold Thømt.JPG, Main Building, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
File:Alesund Kirke interior.jpg, Ålesund Church
File:Bekkelaget kirke 20081026-1.jpg, Bekkelaget Church
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomt, Enevold
1878 births
1958 deaths
People from Askim
19th-century Norwegian painters
20th-century Norwegian painters
Norwegian male painters
19th-century Norwegian male artists
20th-century Norwegian male artists