Hans HEYERDAHL (Norwegian, 1857-1913) ✿

Hans Heyerdahl (1857 - 1913) was a Norwegian Realist painter. His work was characterized by naturalism and focused largely on portraits and landscape paintings.

He began his education with the intent of following in his father's footsteps, but soon discovered that he was more attracted to drawing and art. In 1873, he entered the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry and studied under Peder Cappelen Thurmann. From 1874 until 1877, he was enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, where his professors were Wilhelm Lindenschmit and Ludwig von Löfftz, who encouraged him to switch from landscapes to historical painting and portraits.

From 1878 to 1882, he lived in Paris and won a third-place Medal at the Exposition Universelle. He made his début at the Salon in 1879 with a portrait of the composer Johan Svendsen. While in Paris, he came under the influence of Léon Bonnat and took up painting outdoors (En plein air). In 1881, his work Det døende barn won the Grand Prix du Florence at the Salon, which enabled him to spend two years studying in Italy.

Returned to Norway In addition to his landscapes, he did scenes from Norwegian history and several portraits of notable people, including Frits Thaulow (1885), Knut Hamsun (1893) and Henrik Ibsen (1894). After 1900, he spent another six years in Paris, where his paintings took on a more melancholy tone. In 1904, he was named a Knight in the Order of St. Olav. He died during 1913 in Oslo.