Henrik Sørensen (12 February 1882 – 24 February 1962) was a Norwegian painter.

Personal life

Sørensen was born in Fryksände in Sweden as a son of Severin Sørensen and Helene Høibraaten. He was married to Gudrun Klewe, and is father of physicist Sven Oluf Sørensen. He was a brother-in-law of composer Halfdan Cleve.

Painting career

Sørensen studied drawing at the

Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry The National College of Art and Design () was established in 1818. In 1996, the National College of Art and Design became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts (''Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo'', KHiO), along with the Norwegian National Academy of ...

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

in 1904 and from 1906 to 1908. He studied with

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

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

from 1904 to 1905, and became fascinated by the French impressionists while studying at the art school

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

in Paris during the autumn of 1905. He studied painting with

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

in Paris from 1908 to 1910. His breakthrough was the painting ''Svartbækken'' from 1908. His painting ''Varietéartist'' from 1910 caused big headlines, and was bought by the Swedish painter and art collector Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke. He is represented in the National Gallery with several paintings, as well as in other Scandinavian museums, and has decorated a large wall at the

Oslo City Hall Oslo City Hall () is a municipal building in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It houses the city council, the city's administration and various other municipal organisations. The building as it stands today was constructed between 1931 and 1950, wi ...

. In 1939 the Government of Norway donated his iconic wall painting " The Dream of Peace" in today the Library of the United Nations Office Geneva to the League of Nations. He illustrated books by

Jørgen Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe (22 April 1813–27 March 1882) was a Norwegian folklorist, bishop, poet, and author. He is best known for the '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', a collection of Norwegian folk tales which he edited in collaboration with Pe ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

Ragnhild Jølsen Ragnhild Theodora Jølsen (28 March 1875 – 28 January 1908) was a Norwegian author. Norwegian oral traditions were a recurring theme in her works. Her writings often focused on the conflict between the old rural society and modern industrial soc ...

and

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje Aasmund Olavsson Vinje (6 April 1818 – 30 July 1870) was a Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk). Background Vinje was born into a poor but w ...

, and painted portraits of the writers

Ingeborg Refling Hagen Ingeborg Refling Hagen (19 December 1895 – 30 October 1989) was a Norwegian author, poet, and artistic director. Her writings and activities in support of the arts made her a significant cultural figure in Norway during much of the 20th centur ...

(1932) and Sigurd Christiansen (1936). His painting ''Jødene (Israels folk)'' is from 1943. A painting by Sørensen was used on Norwegian 10 kroner notes from 1954 to 1973. He has painted

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s to the

Linköping Cathedral Linköping Cathedral () is an active Lutheran church (building), church in the Swedish city of Linköping, the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Linköping in the Church of Sweden. One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Scandinavia, it is situat ...

and the

Hamar Cathedral Hamar Cathedral () is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Hamar within the Church of Norway. The cathedral is located in the town of Hamar which is in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is one of the churches for the Hamar parish ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was held at the

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

for one week, January–February 1945. He was a member of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's rights, women's and girls' rights organization that works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights through political reform, ...

Legacy

In 1968 a memorial of Sørensen, made by sculptor Ragnhild Butenschøn, was raised in

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

. Galleries with works by Sørensen were later raised at two of his favourite painting locations, ''

Holmsbu Holmsbu is a small village located in Akershus, Norway. Holmsbu is situated in the municipality of Asker (municipality), Asker on the west side of the peninsula of Hurumlandet on Drammensfjord. The village had 309 residents as of 1 January 2014 ...

Billedgalleri'' in 1973, and ''

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the muni ...

Biletgalleri'' in Smørklepp in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soerensen, Henrik 20th-century Norwegian painters Norwegian male painters Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Académie Colarossi alumni People from Torsby Municipality 1882 births 1962 deaths Grini concentration camp survivors Norwegian Association for Women's Rights people 20th-century Norwegian male artists Swedish emigrants to Norway