Adolph Tidemand’s Paintings of Norwegian Folk Culture

Adolph Tidemand (1814-1876) was a Norwegian romantic nationalism painter who studied in Denmark, Germany, and Italy, but his great works were focused on the folk, culture and landscapes of his native land. His depictions of the peasant lifestyle, in stark contrast of the lavish artwork depicting royalty, was so popular that King Oscar I, head of Sweden and Norway, actually commissioned a series of painting of the rural world for the royal palace. Among his best known paintings are Haugianerne (The Haugeans; 1852) and Brudeferd i Hardanger (The Bridal Procession in Hardanger; 1848), painted in collaboration with Hans Gude.

Norwegian romantic nationalism (Norwegian: Nasjonalromantikken) was a movement in Norway between 1840 and 1867 in art, literature, and popular culture that emphasized the aesthetics of Norwegian nature and the uniqueness of the Norwegian national identity. A subject of much study and debate in Norway, it was characterized by nostalgia.