KODE Museum, Bergen, Norway - September 5, 2023
Spring Night in the Garden - 1909
Nikolai Astrup (1880 - 1928)
Nikolai Astrup was an active painter and graphic artist. The motifs in his works largely depict the rural area of Jølster, as he sought to recreate the lush beauty of the natural surroundings there.
Astrup grew up in Jølster and lived there most of his life, apart from the period he spent studying art in Kristiania and one year in Paris.
The landscapes of his childhood
Astrup’s father was a parish priest in the community, and the parsonage where the family lived was a damp and draughty old building. Nikolai Astrup was severely asthmatic, and the poor living conditions exacerbated his condition. As a boy, he was often forced to seek the cool night air outside to be able to breathe. The landscapes he absorbed on his wanderings in those bright summer nights reverberated in his memory. Astrup’s artistic ambition was to reproduce the intense colours and moods of the nature he had experienced as a child.
After completing his training, Nikolai Astrup returned to his home village of Jølster in 1902 to work there as a smallholder, painter, and printmaker. His art is inextricably linked to the nature and people of Jølster. He was nonetheless not himself a member of the peasantry and was thus able to view the lives of his fellow villagers from an outsider’s perspective. His lush depictions of the scenic Western Norwegian nature and of local customs, such as the Midsummer Night’s bonfire, have made him a beloved artist.
Astrup was wont to reuse images that fascinated him, often reduplicating them several times as paintings and colour woodcuts. For example, he depicted the local Midsummer festivities in several painted versions and in both black-and-white and colour woodcuts. The custom of lighting bonfires and gathering for games and dancing on Midsummer Night was a living tradition with symbolic connotations. Astrup was personally interested in humanity’s interdependence with nature, and the Midsummer Night rituals alluded to the magic forces of nature. Blazing bonfires, dancing, and the picking of wild flowers served both protective and invocative purposes.
_________________________________________________
Bergensian businessman Rasmus Meyer assembled an enormous art collection during his lifetime. Quite cleverly, he bought a number of principal works from Norwegian artists by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
His dream was a public building where the works of art could be exhibited for a larger audience.
Across two floors, you wander through the golden age of Norwegian art history, from 1880 to 1905 and onwards to 1920. We show works by artists like J.C. Dahl, Hans Gude, Harriet Backer, Christian Krohg, Kitty Kielland, Nikolai Astrup and Erik Werenskiold, as well as Norwegian Matisse students Henrik Sørensen and Jean Heiberg.
We also show historic Bergen interiors in the elegant Blumentahl room with its wall and ceiling paintings from around 1760 covering the entire room.
.....
Rasmus Meyer ended his own life in 1916, and his heirs donated his collection to Bergen municipality. They stipulated one condition to the municipality: that a public museum should be constructed for the collection.
The building was designed by architect Ole Landmark and was completed in 1924.
Today, Kode and Bergen are home to the world’s third largest Edvard Munch collection. It consists of more than 100 works on paper and 50 paintings, of which most are from Rasmus Meyer’s collections. Rasmus Meyer was among the first distinguished collectors of Munch’s art.
In the collection you find major works from all periods of Munch’s artistic career. Among the highlights are “Jealousy”, “Melancholy”, “Woman in Three Stages” and “Evening on Karl Johan Street”.
At Permanenten we show temporary exhibitions across three floors of both contemporary art and works from our own collection.
You might know Permanenten as Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum. Traditionally, this is the building housing the collection of fine craft and design, Norwegian silver and the Chinese art collection.
At the top floor you find Festsalen, suitable for hosting various larger events and festive occasions, in addition to the library and meeting rooms.
The museum is currently being renovated and has a limited number of exhibitions on display in 2022-23. Large parts of the collection previously on display in Permanenten is not available at this time.
At Lysverket we show temporary exhibitions as well as permanent works from our collection.
The building is currently scheduled for refurbishment and will until then have selected temporary exhibitions at display.
Right now, you can experience the spectacular new installation by Børre Sæthre in Tårnsalen.
Lysverket is the only Kode building not originally built for museum purposes. The building from 1938 was previously the administration building for the municipal power company Bergen Lysverker, where we got the name from.
KODE Museum, Bergen, Norway - September 5, 2023
Spring Night in the Garden - 1909
Nikolai Astrup (1880 - 1928)
Nikolai Astrup was an active painter and graphic artist. The motifs in his works largely depict the rural area of Jølster, as he sought to recreate the lush beauty of the natural surroundings there.
Astrup grew up in Jølster and lived there most of his life, apart from the period he spent studying art in Kristiania and one year in Paris.
The landscapes of his childhood
Astrup’s father was a parish priest in the community, and the parsonage where the family lived was a damp and draughty old building. Nikolai Astrup was severely asthmatic, and the poor living conditions exacerbated his condition. As a boy, he was often forced to seek the cool night air outside to be able to breathe. The landscapes he absorbed on his wanderings in those bright summer nights reverberated in his memory. Astrup’s artistic ambition was to reproduce the intense colours and moods of the nature he had experienced as a child.
After completing his training, Nikolai Astrup returned to his home village of Jølster in 1902 to work there as a smallholder, painter, and printmaker. His art is inextricably linked to the nature and people of Jølster. He was nonetheless not himself a member of the peasantry and was thus able to view the lives of his fellow villagers from an outsider’s perspective. His lush depictions of the scenic Western Norwegian nature and of local customs, such as the Midsummer Night’s bonfire, have made him a beloved artist.
Astrup was wont to reuse images that fascinated him, often reduplicating them several times as paintings and colour woodcuts. For example, he depicted the local Midsummer festivities in several painted versions and in both black-and-white and colour woodcuts. The custom of lighting bonfires and gathering for games and dancing on Midsummer Night was a living tradition with symbolic connotations. Astrup was personally interested in humanity’s interdependence with nature, and the Midsummer Night rituals alluded to the magic forces of nature. Blazing bonfires, dancing, and the picking of wild flowers served both protective and invocative purposes.
_________________________________________________
Bergensian businessman Rasmus Meyer assembled an enormous art collection during his lifetime. Quite cleverly, he bought a number of principal works from Norwegian artists by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
His dream was a public building where the works of art could be exhibited for a larger audience.
Across two floors, you wander through the golden age of Norwegian art history, from 1880 to 1905 and onwards to 1920. We show works by artists like J.C. Dahl, Hans Gude, Harriet Backer, Christian Krohg, Kitty Kielland, Nikolai Astrup and Erik Werenskiold, as well as Norwegian Matisse students Henrik Sørensen and Jean Heiberg.
We also show historic Bergen interiors in the elegant Blumentahl room with its wall and ceiling paintings from around 1760 covering the entire room.
.....
Rasmus Meyer ended his own life in 1916, and his heirs donated his collection to Bergen municipality. They stipulated one condition to the municipality: that a public museum should be constructed for the collection.
The building was designed by architect Ole Landmark and was completed in 1924.
Today, Kode and Bergen are home to the world’s third largest Edvard Munch collection. It consists of more than 100 works on paper and 50 paintings, of which most are from Rasmus Meyer’s collections. Rasmus Meyer was among the first distinguished collectors of Munch’s art.
In the collection you find major works from all periods of Munch’s artistic career. Among the highlights are “Jealousy”, “Melancholy”, “Woman in Three Stages” and “Evening on Karl Johan Street”.
At Permanenten we show temporary exhibitions across three floors of both contemporary art and works from our own collection.
You might know Permanenten as Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum. Traditionally, this is the building housing the collection of fine craft and design, Norwegian silver and the Chinese art collection.
At the top floor you find Festsalen, suitable for hosting various larger events and festive occasions, in addition to the library and meeting rooms.
The museum is currently being renovated and has a limited number of exhibitions on display in 2022-23. Large parts of the collection previously on display in Permanenten is not available at this time.
At Lysverket we show temporary exhibitions as well as permanent works from our collection.
The building is currently scheduled for refurbishment and will until then have selected temporary exhibitions at display.
Right now, you can experience the spectacular new installation by Børre Sæthre in Tårnsalen.
Lysverket is the only Kode building not originally built for museum purposes. The building from 1938 was previously the administration building for the municipal power company Bergen Lysverker, where we got the name from.