Lot 150: PROPERTY OF A GERMAN GENTLEMAN OF TITLE THOMAS FEARNLEY NORWEGIAN, 1802-1842 RYTTERE I LANDSKAP

PROPERTY OF A GERMAN GENTLEMAN OF TITLE THOMAS FEARNLEY NORWEGIAN, 1802-1842 RYTTERE I LANDSKAP (RIDERS IN A LANDSCAPE)

signed and indistinctly dated Th. Fearnley / 1837 l.r.

oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

Acquired by the family of the present owner circa 1850; thence by descent
CATALOGUE NOTE

Painted in 1837, following study trips to Germany, Italy and England, it is likely that the present work was executed in Norway upon Fearnley's return from the Lake District.

Fearnley's teacher and mentor, J.C. Dahl (see note to lot 152) proclaimed that the artist's studies from nature formed some of his finest and most compelling works. In recognition of his ability Dahl conferred on Fearnley the title of Professor in Effect-Landscape Paintings and recommended his works to the National Gallery, Oslo. According to Dahl, in his landscape studies Fearnley 'gave himself, as he really was and what he felt in front of nature' (Maria Lødrup Bang, Johan Christian Dahl: 1788-1857, Oslo, 1987, vol. 1, p. 245.)

Riders in a landscape is a fine example of Fearnley's moodily romantic landscapes of the 1830s that contrast the transience of humankind with the might of mother earth, a juxtaposition that drew on the example of Dahl.

45.5 by 61cm., 18 by 24in.