He shocked and captivated the Norwegian art world and was internationally celebrated for his landscape paintings. Discover Frits Thaulow at Kode this summer, in the first major exhibition devoted to the artist in many years.
Frits Thaulow (1847–1906) played a pivotal role in the development of modern art in Norway. His vibrant and colourful plein-air paintings both captivated and shocked the Norwegian art world in the early 1880s.
Thaulow went on to become internationally recognised for his masterful paintings, particularly of moving water. He settled permanently in France in 1892 and became known as the 'painter of water in motion, winter and night'.
Thaulow was a prolific painter and his art is now held in public and private collections throughout Norway and abroad. The exhibition includes many paintings on loan, and offers a rare opportunity to see them in one place. Several of the paintings have not been shown publicly in Norway for a long time.
«This exhibition is bursting with painterly joy! It is a tribute to the power of painting and a boost for an artist who has by no means been forgotten, but who truly deserves an opportunity for the public to delve deeper and appreciate the full breadth of his artistic achievement!»
— Renate Rivedal, The Bergen Times
Motifs from around the world
The exhibition Frits Thaulow at Kode provides a chronological, broad presentation of Thaulow's work as a painter, with examples of the most important themes and motifs from his artistic career.
We follow the artist from his training as a marine painter in the 1870s, to becoming Norway's most passionate plein-air painter in the 1880s, and on to his impressive career in Paris. The exhibition shows how Thaulow was influenced by important artistic movements such as Naturalism, Impressionism, Art Nouveau and Symbolism.
As one of the most international Norwegian artists of the time, Thaulow participated in the Paris Salon, World Fairs, Venice Biennales and other major international events. He travelled extensively and painted from a number of Norwegian and European locations, in addition to motifs from his stay in 'the smokey city' Pittsburgh in the USA.
Thaulow as a painter of Western Norway
It may come as a surprise that Thaulow also painted Western Norway. He painted several paintings from Jæren early in his career, and he enjoyed a productive stay on the island of Stord in the late 1880s that resulted in a number of beautiful depictions of nature.
Several of these paintings are now being shown together for the first time in this exhibition, in addition to motifs from Bergen.
A new work – The first snow, Stord (1890) – has been acquired by Kode for the occasion and will be shown in Norway for the first time in many years.
Hypnotic river landscapes and a special music programme
Thaulow's French river landscapes are hypnotically beautiful, and capture the reflections and playful shimmer of the water.
Several of the most striking depictions of rivers are shown in the exhibition, and are placed in the context of the interest that prevailed in movement in art, especially music. Thaulow himself was a keen amateur cellist and counted several composers among his friends. Debussy is even said to have had one of his paintings in his collection.
Kode has developed a special music programme for the exhibition, where visitors can experience the 'musical' Thaulow among his art for the first time, featuring both Norwegian and French music.
Every Wednesday and Friday from 10 June to 21 August at 16:00 you can enjoy a Debussy concert in the Frits Thaulow exhibition at Permanenten. The concert lasts 30 minutes.