Bonfire celebrating Midsummer Night
- Artist: Nikolai Astrup
- Creation date: 1912 og 1926
About
After completing his training, Nikolai Astrup returned to his home village of Jølster in 1902 to work there as a smallholder, painter, and printmaker. His art is inextricably linked to the nature and people of Jølster. He was nonetheless not himself a member of the peasantry and was thus able to view the lives of his fellow villagers from an outsider’s perspective. His lush depictions of the scenic Western Norwegian nature and of local customs, such as the Midsummer Night’s bonfire, have made him a beloved artist.
Astrup was wont to reuse images that fascinated him, often reduplicating them several times as paintings and colour woodcuts. For example, he depicted the local Midsummer festivities in several painted versions and in both black-and-white and colour woodcuts. The custom of lighting bonfires and gathering for games and dancing on Midsummer Night was a living tradition with symbolic connotations. Astrup was personally interested in humanity’s interdependence with nature, and the Midsummer Night rituals alluded to the magic forces of nature. Blazing bonfires, dancing, and the picking of wild flowers served both protective and invocative purposes.
In the museum’s painting, the large bonfire is the central element of the composition. A dark silhouette against the bright flames testifies to a lonely figure; the other villagers have grouped together on the slope on the other side of the bonfire, talking and flirting with summer gaiety. The scene plays out amidst the mighty Jølster landscape, with the looming Kollen hillcrest serving as the backdrop. The combination of realistic and romantic traits is characteristic of Astrup’s art.
- Creation date:
- 1912 og 1926
- Other titles:
- Jonsokbål (NOR)
- Object type:
- Painting
- Materials and techniques:
- Olje på papir oppklebet på trefiberplate
- Material:
- Trefiberplate, Paper
- Dimensions:
- Height: 88.8 cm
- Width: 104.9 cm
- Keywords:
- Visual art
- Classification:
- 532 - Bildende kunst
- Motif - type:
- Landscape
- Inventory no.:
- NG.M.03609
- Cataloguing level:
- Single object
- Acquisition:
- Acquired 1984
- Owner and collection:
- Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design, The Fine Art Collections
- Photo:
- Børre Høstland/Lathion, Jacques
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Other works by Nikolai Astrup
Landscape in SpringNikolai Astrup(1908) Ant.
SandalstrandNikolai AstrupMellom 1914 og 1928
FlowerNikolai AstrupTidlig 1900-tall
Blue AnemonesNikolai AstrupMellom 1905 og 1907
Chair, sketchNikolai AstrupTidlig 1900-tall
Male FigureNikolai AstrupCa. 1917
Spring Night and SallowNikolai Astrup(1917) (plate)
FoxglovesNikolai Astrup1909
The white Horse in SpringNikolai Astrupantagelig 1914-1915
Jølster Woman weavingNikolai AstrupBegynnelsen 1900-tallet
Chair, sketchNikolai AstrupTidlig 1900-tall
Church Interior, Ålhus Church, JølsterNikolai AstrupBegynnelsen 1900-tallet
























![[Non titré, 1976]](https://ms01.nasjonalmuseet.no/iip/?iiif=/tif/133889.tif/full/,80/0/default.jpg)

![[Non titré] 1952](https://ms01.nasjonalmuseet.no/iip/?iiif=/tif/108044.tif/full/,80/0/default.jpg)






















