Kristen Holbø (13 September 1869 – 19 October 1953) was a Norwegian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and illustrator, most noted for his landscapes.

Biography

He was born on Sygard Holbø in

Vågå Vågå () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of ...

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...

county, Norway. He studied under

Knud Bergslien Knud Larsen Bergslien (15 May 1827 – 27 November 1908) was a Norwegian painter, art teacher and master artist. In his art, he frequently portrayed the lives of the Norwegian people, their history and heroes of the past. Bergslien is most asso ...

in 1890,

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. He gained early recognition for the history painting ''Christian II signing t ...

and

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 ...

in 1893 and 1894, and under

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, ...

during the winters from 1897 to 1902. In 1909, Holbø held his first solo exhibition in Christiania Art Society. Holbø lived in

until 1912, when the family moved to Lillehammer. From 1946 he received the National Artist salary. His painting had a distinctly home-like tone, with a broad brush and robust palette. He often portrayed his home village and surrounding mountains of

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; ) is a valley and Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Norway, Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer (town), Lillehammer and the lake ...

. As a landscape painter he described first and foremost his hometown, and also the mountainous area of

Jotunheimen Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, in ...

. During several summers, he also painted from Hvasser and

Tjøme Tjøme () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The administrative ce ...

, both in

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county. He is represented with eleven paintings and two illustrations in the

National Gallery of Norway The National Gallery () is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History It was established in 1842 following a parliamentary decision from 1836. Originally lo ...

Personal life

Holbø was married in 1905 to Anna Harildstad (1871–1958). He was the father of Norwegian artist,

Halvdan Holbø Halvdan Holbø (4 May 1907 in Vågå, Oppland – 21 September 1995) was a Norwegian painter. He was born in Vågå as a son of Kristen Holbø. He studied under Søren Onsager, Anders C. Svarstad, Halfdan Strøm and Jean Heiberg, and spent time ...

.''Halvdan Holbø'' (Store norske leksikon)
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References

1869 births 1953 deaths People from Vågå Norwegian landscape painters 19th-century Norwegian illustrators 19th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian painters 20th-century Norwegian illustrators {{Norway-painter-stub