Victor Goldschmidt

Victor Goldschmidt was a mineralogist and is considered to be the founder of modern geochemistry. And therefore, one of the most excellent natural scientists of our time. 

Here, Asta Nørregaard captured him at just fifteen years old, and with an aura of self-confidence – a steady gaze and handsome dark wavy hair. 

So, how did it come to be that Nørregaard painted the portrait of this young man? 

Although we’re not 100% certain, there’s a possibility she met him following her portrait work of her friend, the physicist Kristian Birkeland. Or, after she completed the portrait of the industrialist Sam Eyde, his wife, and daughters.

Goldschmidt came to Norway with his parents in 1901, when his father Heinrich Jacob Goldschmidt became a professor of chemistry at the university of Oslo. 

In 1911, at the age of 23, Victor received a doctorate in geology, and the following year got a job as a lecturer there. 

Later, he held professorships in Stockholm, Kristiania and Göttingen. 

During his stay in Göttingen, he was deeply affected by Hitler's treatment of Jews and returned to Norway in 1935.  

Back in Oslo, he became a professor of mineralogy and geology, and took over the position of director of the mineral-geological Museum, today's Natural History Museum. 

After the German invasion of Norway, Goldschmidt was imprisoned, but the academic community worked hard to get him released. 

Following this, the occupying forces confiscated all his valuables, including his laboratory equipment, and he was later arrested once again.  

This time, he was supposed to be transported with fellow Norwegian Jews to Germany, but for some unknown reason, while waiting on the pier, he was taken out of the queue and sent home.  

He fled to Sweden, and then to Scotland. 
Following the end of the war, Goldschmidt returned to Oslo, where he died in 1947.