Peder Balke at the National Gallery

at the Sunley Room

This autumn, the National Gallery hosts the first UK exhibition focused on the paintings of 19th-century artist Peder Balke.

 

All but forgotten for more than a century, and never very commercially successful in his lifetime, this Norwegian artist has recently been rediscovered as one of the forerunners of modernism.

balkeLandscape from Finnmark with Sámi and Reindeer – Peder Balke, about 1850

The small scenes Balke painted for his own pleasure are now recognised as highly original pieces. The 50 paintings exhibited cover all stages of Balke’s career and include the distinctive, dramatic and rugged lands of isolated Artic Circle seascapes, for which he employed fastidious brushwork or even sometimes his hands to capture the beauty and drama of nature.

Presenting his series of sublime and distinctively Scandinavian depictions of stormy seas, towering glaciers and threatening skies – the majority of which have never been seen before in the UK – the exhibition marks a rare opportunity to view the work of one of Norway’s most romantic landscape artists.

Read our interview with the curator, Christopher Riopelle, here.

Where

The Sunley Room at the National Gallery
Trafalgar Square
London WC2N 5DN

 

Website

nationalgallery.org.uk

Opening times

10am–9pm daily (Friday, 10am–6pm)

 

Price

Admission free

Norwegian Art

More from Norwegian Arts