Northern Lights: the art of Scandinavia

Aims of the course

This course aims to:
1. Present many paintings of the highest quality that receive little consideration outside Scandinavia.
2. Present an alternative narrative in respect of the art of the 19th century.
3. Discuss why Scandinavian art was so successful in Paris in the 1880s.

Course Content

We begin with the art of Caspar David Friedrich and his links to the father of Norwegian Landscape painting Johan Christian Dahl; Dahl in turn tutored the highly talented Thomas Fearnley who travelled to Germany, Italy and England. You will encounter the landscapes of Sweden and Norway – How important was Romanticism and Nationalism to the depictions of these countries? At the very tip of Denmark was the isolated artists’ colony of Skagen, whose fishing community was portrayed by many urban artists, not least the internationally famous PS Krøyer, ably supported by the husband-and-wife partnership of Michael and Anna Ancher. This era produced a number of Scandinavian artists whose work is now recognised on an international scale: Edvard Munch, famous for ‘The Scream’ and whose pictures fetch exceptional prices at auction, Vilhelm Hammershøi whose paintings of cool interiors are a great favourite with Michael Palin(among many), and Anders Zorn who visited the USA many times and depicted three American presidents.

We conclude with the story of how Scandinavian art recovered from the low point of the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris to triumph and success at the 1889 event. Which artists, including a number of women, wowed the judges at the leading art event of the decade? We analyse and discuss the qualities that were appreciated and rewarded with medals and the Légiond’Honneur. We will examine an alternative art–portraits, landscapes, depictions of working people -that often leave people amazed at its quality allied to itslack of exposure to a worldwide audience.

Presentation of the course

The course will be based on a PowerPoint presentation of images, supplemented by clips of film. There will be plenty of discussion of issues that arise during the development of the presentation, with student participation actively encouraged.

Class sessions

1. Caspar David Friedrich, Johan Christian Dahl, Thomas Fearnley
2. Swedish and Norwegian Landscapes
3. PS Krøyerand the art colony at Skagen
4. Edvard Munch, Anders Zorn and Vilhelm Hammershøi
5. Nordic Success at the Paris Salonin the 1880s

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are:
1.An appreciation of a broad range of19th-century Scandinavian art
2.A clear understanding of the various genres of art that were produced and why
3.The reasons why Scandinavian art was such a success at the Paris Salon

Required reading

Due to the difficulty in sourcing books on Scandinavian art, there is no required reading. The book by David Jackson and the PhD thesis by the tutor (Jan D Cox) listed as part of the supplementary reading give a good overview.

Cox, Jan D The Impact of Nordic Art in Europe 1878-1889, PhD Thesis, 2014. Available online at: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10406/

Jackson, David. Nordic Art: The Modern Breakthrough 1860-1920, Exh. Cat. Groninger Museum, Groningen, & Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich, 2012

Typical week: Monday to Friday

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students. 

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.