Feel Art Again: "Brudeferden i Hardanger"

The great Norwegian landscape painter Hans Gude was born on this date 183 years ago. His 1848 collaboration with Adolph Tidemand, entitled "Brudeferden i Hardanger" ("The Bridal Procession in Hardanger"), is his most well-known work. In honor of his birthday, today we'll look at Hans Gude himself, "Brudeferden i Hardanger," and Adolph Tidemand.

1. For "Brudeferden i Hardanger," Hans Gude painted the landscape, while Adolph Tidemand painted the revelers. A wedding party dressed in traditional garb is shown leaving the church and floating down the fjord. "Brudeferden i Hardanger" is considered by many to be the most popular painting in Norwegian art.

2. Through the course of his professorships at three art academies—those of Dösseldorf, Karlsruhe, and Berlin—Gude taught three generations of Norwegian landscape painters. Although Gude was clearly a well-respected artist, Richard Muther remarked in his 1896 The History of Modern Painting that Gude "is one of those painters whom one esteems, but for whom it is not possible to feel great enthusiasm—one of those conscientious workers who from their very solidity run the risk of becoming tedious," also stating that while Gude's paintings are "never irritating," they also "seldom kindle any warm feeling."

3. In 1893, Gude received the St. Olav Grand Cross. The Norwegian order of chivalry was established in 1847 by King Oscar I and has been awarded approximately 5,000 times since then.

4. Adolph Tidemand's talent was discovered while he was taking private art lessons in his hometown. The Royal Danish Art Academy rejected him upon his first application but, after attending a private art school, was later accepted to the Academy. The Academy's reconsideration was wise, as Tidemand went on to become the most popular painter in Norway.

5. Unlike many artists who marry models or marry several times, Tidemand married only once, to his childhood sweetheart, Claudine Marie Bergitte Jæger.

A larger version of "Brudeferden i Hardanger" is available here, while a gallery of some of Hans Gude's other works is available here.

'Feel Art Again' appears every Tuesday and Thursday.