Johan Christian Dahl

Johan Schweigaard, Oslo (by 1937)
Private collection, Norway (by 2008)

Marie Lødrup Bang, Johan Christian Dahl 1788-1857.  Life and Works, Oslo, 1987, vol. 2, p. 162, no. 464, catalogued; vol. 3, pl. 188, no. 464, illustrated 

Painted in 1824, the present work depicts the idyllic rural environment of Dresden, where Dahl lived and worked during the 1820s. The early 1820s were a busy and prosperous time for Dahl. After finishing his studies under the tutelage of the highly respected C.A Lorentzen in Denmark in 1818, on his move to Dresden Dahl's circumstances underwent dramatic change. On his arrival he quickly immersed himself in the artistic life of the city. Among the many and varied friendships that he struck up there, one of his earliest acquaintances was Caspar David Friedrich. Early in 1820 he was elected a member of the Dresden Academy, and in June the same year he married Emilie von Bloch. Spending the following year in Rome and Naples, he returned to Dresden with his young wife in the summer of 1821.