Halfdan Egedius
12.04.47 – 04.05.47
Halfdan Egedius was a Norwegian artist who lived from 1877-1899. He was born in Drammen and spent most of his summers in Bø in Telemark. There he became good friends with the artist Torleiv Stadskleiv. He also painted many motifs of landscapes, people and dances there. At this exhibition, a collection his works were displayed, among them were both paintings and drawings from 1885 until 1898.
Extract from catalogue
"Artists naturally have many ways of working. Many struggle forward, empty doors empty, until one beautiful day the secret of art shines from their work. Halfdan Egedius was a confident artist from the start. But this didn’t make him work any less. , and even if the subject had been chosen a hundred times before him, it didn't matter to him – now it was his, and for the first time. For his "inner vision" he built up the finished work of art little by little, tumbling his imagination, letting it gather from a certain form, then went into the subject with his whole life and sat down to paint. Then things could often get out of hand quickly. But it always became art - -.
Art is sovereign over all directions, and further sense cannot be spoken of this or that kind of art, of 'mystical art' for example. Art is always mysterious. There is just as much mystery in a sunshine picture by Renoir as in a summer night picture by Munch. In that sense, there can be no talk of greater or lesser art either. Art is always great, but there are very few artists. Halfdan Egedius was an artist."- Walther Halvorsen (1914)
Images from catalogue
