The painter Dahl's touch for Norwegian nature
"View from Stalheim" was painted by Johan Christian Dahl 16 years after he first discovered the epic motif in the mountains in western Norway.
Text by Senior Communications Advisor Ellisiv Brattfjord
Curator Øystein Ustvedt is fascinated by the grandness and, at the same time, intimacy of the Norwegian nature.
You recently visited the location where the motif for View from Stalheim was created in the 1800’s for the first time. Did your visit change your relationship with the painting?
– It was a great experience! The location in itself is spectacular, but it was so interesting to also see how faithful Dahl has been to the actual motif. And how good he was at finding the right angle, the best viewpoint. It is still very easy to recognize it today, almost 200 years after he drew the motif for the first time. And then there’s the weather. It changes so fast up there, scorching sun and roaring thunder can appear almost at the same time. Dahl has also managed to capture this in the painting.